loanDepot Celebrates Third Season as Presenting Sponsor of Major League Baseball’s ALCS and NLCS and Scores Big for Habitat for Humanity

Partnership with Habitat helps families build and improve places to call home

“Ballpark Bingo: A Celebration of Firsts” grand prize winner Drue Hilligoss of Fisher, Ill. threw a ceremonial first pitch at ALCS opener in Houston and repeats tonight at NLCS matchup in Philadelphia

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Postseason baseball takes center stage, loanDepot is back for its third year as the Presenting Sponsor of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS), hitting it out of the park once again for families across America. The company announced its season-long contributions to Habitat for Humanity, complementing its “Ballpark Bingo: A Celebration of Firsts” campaign, have been finalized and are set to support the building and repairing of affordable homes for families across the country.

“loanDepot’s partnership with MLB allows us to engage with millions of fans in communities across the country in an interactive way, celebrating ‘firsts’ in baseball and homeownership,” said loanDepot President and CEO Frank Martell. “At a time when we’re facing an unprecedented housing affordability crisis, impacting the same fans and communities, especially the diverse communities of first-time homebuyers, our partnership with Habitat is making a genuine impact by creating more homes for families across America.”

As the Official Mortgage Provider of MLB, loanDepot's Ballpark Bingo campaign captivated fans throughout the 2023 regular season with an interactive sweepstakes. Fans participated by stamping their digital bingo cards as major “first” milestones unfolded on the baseball diamond, such as the first player to hit 10 home runs and the first team to land a triple play.

Drue Hilligoss from Fisher, Ill., won the Ballpark Bingo grand prize, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Game One of both the ALCS and NLCS, where last night, he enjoyed the incredible experience of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Houston during the American League matchup. He'll step up to the mound again tonight before Arizona takes on Philadelphia in the NLCS opener.

Speaking to the first-of-its-kind experience, Hilligoss shared, “My wife and I love baseball, and our goal is to visit different stadiums. Thank you so much to loanDepot! This is a once-in-a-lifetime dream, going to two playoff games back-to-back, in two different cities across the country. And, throwing out the first pitch is icing on the cherry on the sundae!”

As a purpose-driven lender committed to helping Americans realize their financial and homeownership goals, loanDepot partnered with Habitat for Humanity on its mission to help families build and improve places to call home. As fans stamped their bingo cards, significant milestones throughout the season – including the first clinched ALCS and NLCS berths – unlocked donations from loanDepot. These funds will now contribute to new construction and home repair in the community, which will help low-income households establish the foundational stability that comes with access to safe and affordable homeownership.

“Habitat is proud to partner with loanDepot and baseball fans to leverage milestones throughout this season,” said Tolli Love, chief development officer at Habitat for Humanity International. “The support generated from this promotion will help Habitat build and repair more affordable homes. We’re grateful to loanDepot for their committed partnership and support of our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”

As part of the partnership, loanDepot employees and executives, including Martell, have also been rolling up their sleeves, volunteering to build Habitat homes across the country.

About loanDepot

loanDepot (NYSE: LDI; NMLS # 174457) is an equal housing lender and digital commerce company committed to serving its customers throughout the homeownership journey. Since its launch in 2010, loanDepot has revolutionized the mortgage industry with a digital-first approach that makes it easier, faster and less stressful to purchase or refinance a home. Today, as one of the nation's largest non-bank retail mortgage lenders, loanDepot enables customers to achieve the American dream of homeownership through a broad suite of lending and real estate services that simplify one of life's most complex transactions. With headquarters in Southern California and offices nationwide, loanDepot is committed to serving the communities in which its team lives and works through a variety of local, regional and national philanthropic efforts.