At Atlantic Coast Mortgage, caring about the communities isn’t just something we talk about – it’s our culture. Look no further than Neil Sweren (SVP, Reverse Division Manager) and Scott Eisgrau (SVP, Branch Manager) of Owing Mills and what they managed to accomplish for their local community.
Original video by WMAR-2 News, Apr 07, 2021, https://www.wmar2news.com/goodtoknow/atlantic-coast-mortgage
There was no big build-up – no movie-quality, flash-of-lightning source of inspiration for Neil Sweren and Scott Eisgrau to take action and make a positive impact in their community.
Neil simply read a CNN news article about a Florida man who donated approximately $8,000 to cover the utility bills of 114 households facing shutdowns in his local area. As friends often do, Neil forwarded the article to Scott, and both were inspired to do something similar to help their local community.
Scott’s response was immediately – “I’m in.”
“When Neil came to me with this, it just felt right,” said Scott, a proud resident of neighboring Reisterstown. “We wanted to raise money to help people in the local community who really needed the help.”
Scott was on the same page: “I realized that so many people literally don’t have $100 to pay their electricity bills, and for a relatively small amount of money we could help a large number of people. We thought, ‘Let’s just stay in our own backyard, help our own neighbors.’ That’s what the guy in Florida did.”
Collectively, they donated $3,000 on their own before approaching our CEO Timur Tunador about the possibility of a matching contribution from ACM. Timur was enthusiastic but challenged them to aim higher by raising more, stating that ACM would match the additional amount.
Since the initial challenge (and at the time of this writing – 04/12/2021) over $25,000 has been raised between Scott, Neil, all their family and friends, and ACM’s contributions. This money has assisted 59 households in covering Baltimore Gas & Electric accounts that were in danger of imminent shutoffs or otherwise delinquent.
While the current situation has the unique variables of COVID-19 and an expiring moratorium of shut-offs at play, there’s never a bad time to help your neighbors. Neil and Scott organized their drive through the Fuel Fund of Maryland – a worthwhile cause no matter the time of year.
As you read this, our challenge to you is to recognize there is no movie-magic moment that is perfect for making a difference. You don’t need to win the lottery to have the means to make the world a better place. All it takes is a willingness to do good, a desire to give back, and a commitment to take action.
Any contribution you can give to a worthy organization like The Fuel Fund, no matter the size, will always make a positive impact in your local community and bring a smile to a neighbor’s face.
About Neil and Scott
Neil Sweren and Scott Eisgrau met as freshmen at Towson University, and have been close friends ever since. As business partners they have over 50 years of combined mortgage experience, and have subsequently served thousands of homeowners and aspiring homebuyers in their community based out of Atlantic Coast Mortgage’s Owings Mills Branch.
Wondering where this feel-good story has surfaced (or how we sourced our blog article)? Here’s the running list of the news organizations that have covered Neil and Scott’s mission so far:
