Rate Donates 46,000 Pounds of Food and Personal Care Items to Charity

Rate, the eighth largest retail mortgage lender in the nation, hosted a company-wide food drive that donated more than 46,000 pounds of food and personal care items to local charities. Giving back to the community is a key component of the company’s culture.

The food drive took place during November and was made into a competition with branches across the nation participating. Winners were determined by the highest ratios of pounds donated per employee. This year’s winning offices were Brentwood, Tenn. with 402 pounds per employee; Frankfort, Ill. with 141.21; and Cuyler, Ill. with 31.23.

“I’m very proud of all the employees and branches that contributed to our team effort,” said Victor Ciardelli, president & CEO of Rate. “It’s phenomenal that we collected 23 tons of food to help those in need. That’s more than double our amount of 10 tons from last year!”

The winning teams donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Frankfort Food Pantry and Common Pantry.

Rate also gives back throughout the year through its Rate Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, designed to help families in times of unexpected financial hardship. In 2014, the company launched the first “Ultimate Neighborhood Give Back Challenge,” where Rate awarded $100,000 to six worthy community improvement projects nationwide.