While many in the housing business have donated time and money to help the victims of Katrina, few can match the effort put together by the Ameriquest Mortgage family of companies.

Only days after the massive hurricane struck the Gulf Coast just east of New Orleans, Ameriquest employees had an 18 wheeler loaded with supplies. And this week, two more tractor-trailers were packed and sent on their way with toilet paper, diapers and other personal hygiene items.

Sometimes criticized for alleged predatory lending practices, the company also has joined HomeAid America and Texas Gov. Rick Parry's OneStar Foundation in a relief effort to build transitional houses for the displaced. And it is chauffeuring movie star Vanessa Williams, the Houston Comets of the WNBA and any other celebrities it can round up back and forth to cheer up, USO-style, the thousands of evacuees camped at the Houston Astrodome.

Ameriquest, which is donating $5 million to the cause, usually sees its mission as a "Proud Sponsor of the American dream." Now, for the too-many-to-count families who were stranded, evacuated and now have nowhere to live, it views its mission as "Rebuilding the American Dream," Vice Chairman Adam Bass said on his cell phone last week from the floor of the enormous stadium.

Bass said he wanted to tell his story in hopes of motivating others to do more than just send money. Cash is needed, of course, but giving of yourself is often so much more meaningful, he explained.

"A check is wonderful, but it's a whole different thing to give your time and energy," said the Ameriquest vice chairman, who came here to manage the company's relief effort.

"The human tragedy is mind-boggling," he said. "These people lost everything they had in the world, and now they are sleeping on cots."

As Bass spoke, an Ameriquest executive who flew in from Washington could be heard in the background promising to deliver supplies to a Louisiana Congressman's stricken district. All the lawmaker had to do was tell him where the goods were needed, the employee said, and they would be there the next day.

Back in California, where the company and its Argent Mortgage, AMC Mortgage Services and the Long Beach Acceptance Corp. subsidiaries are based, the company's human resources director was running from one Western Union office to another to wire $500 checks to some of their 100 or so employees who also were impacted by the category 5 hurricane.

Ameriquest and its affiliates are continuing to pay their Gulf Coast employees, most of whom have been located. But it was necessary to drive to multiple Western Union locations because the company has a rule that allows only one wire transaction per office.

Shortly after the huge storm passed through the region, 25 Ameriquest employees volunteered to work on rotating basis to collect goods. Then, they knocked on doors until they found a warehouse operator willing to open his doors over the weekend. And next, they and volunteer warehouse workers filled a truck and sent it on its way.

Now, many more Ameriquest employees are in the process of filling 10,000 grocery bags with clothing, diapers, canned goods and other items. The "care packages" will be marked "male," "female," "adult," and "child" and trucked into needy areas, Bass said.

After he hung up, the Ameriquest official said, he was heading to a hotel to pick up the women basketballers and deliver them to the Astrodome. "Seeing sports icons and other stars make people feel better," he explained.

And after that, he said, it was off to round up toys and blankets for the hundreds of kids who had no relatives and were living in the "lost children" section of the stadium.

Later, Bass reported in again.

"It went great with the Comets," he said. "The star of the team, Sheryl Swoopes, was holding and kissing kids and signing shirts and balls."

Swoopes, a six-foot forward who averages 16.3 points a game and is a top defender, "moved people to tears" when she spoke at a podium, according to the Ameriquest vice chairman.

Terrell Owens, star wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, was also at the Astrodome that day, and spoke of the importance of building ad rebuilding homes.

Published: September 13, 2005

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.