The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Opens Doors Foundation (Opens Doors) today announced that Eddy Perez, founder and CEO of Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM), has pledged $1 million over 10 years in honor of the late former MBA President and CEO David Stevens. With this generous pledge, Opens Doors will further deliver on Stevens’ vision of an organization that provides mortgage and rental assistance to families with critically ill or injured children, allowing parents and guardians to be by a child’s side during treatment without fear of losing their home.
Opens Doors launched in October 2011 under the leadership of Stevens, his wife, Mary Stevens, and Dan Arrigoni, then-President and CEO of US Bank Home Mortgage. With this generous pledge, Opens Doors will further deliver on Stevens’ vision of an organization that provides mortgage and rental assistance to families with critically ill or injured children, allowing parents and guardians to be by a child's side during treatment without fear of losing their home.
“Dave Stevens was my role model when I began my career in mortgage banking. He took the time to mentor me and guide me through the industry’s ups and downs,” Perez said. “Dave was generous beyond measure and his commitment to families with sick kids during one of the most difficult times in their lives is something that lives on in the good work of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation. It is a privilege to make this pledge in honor of my mentor and friend.”
“On behalf of the Opens Doors Board of Directors, we are deeply grateful to Eddy Perez for his extremely generous pledge of $1,000,000 in honor of Dave Stevens,” said MBA Opens Doors Foundation Chairman Debra Still, vice chairman of Pulte Financial Services. “Eddy’s pledge is a wonderful way to honor the 2011 vision that Dave, Mary Stevens, and Dan Arrigoni had of helping families with sick children. As chairman of the foundation’s board of directors, I have had the privilege of bearing witness to the impact such gifts have had on the more than 16,000 families helped by the Foundation.”
Since 2012, Opens Doors, through its network of 13 children’s hospitals, has helped families in 49 states and the District of Columbia, granting just shy of $25 million in housing assistance to more than 16,000 families with critically ill or injured children to help them stay in their homes while their child was in treatment.
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