Guild Mortgage and Sackcloth & Ashes launch a social media giveaway to gift homeless shelters with 500 blankets

San Diego – January 16, 2026 – Guild Mortgage, a nationally recognized retail mortgage lender, is proud to once again partner with Sackcloth & Ashes to give winter blankets to shelters across the nation, as part of a multi-day Instagram giveaway beginning January 16, 2026.

In this initiative spanning one week, Guild Mortgage and Sackcloth & Ashes will leverage their combined audience to gather nominations for five shelters across the country that serve people who struggle with housing. Each winning shelter, selected at random, will receive 100 blankets.

Guild and Sackcloth & Ashes have partnered for years to give blankets to new homeowners and shelters in the communities where they live. When a Guild customer closes on their mortgage, Guild loan officers frequently gift the new homeowner with a sustainable, Italian-made, chemical-free plush blanket to celebrate their home purchase. Sackcloth & Ashes matches that gift by donating another blanket to a shelter in that homeowner’s community. In 2025, Guild and Sackcloth & Ashes gifted over 2,100 blankets to 36 states and more than 200 homeless shelters valued at around $14,000.

The community emphasis is key for both Guild and Sackcloth & Ashes, as both partners actively support the neighborhoods they work in. As a national mortgage lender that operates with a retail focus, Guild branches are located within the same towns and cities as the aspiring homeowners and homebuyers it serves. Sackcloth & Ashes operates with a similar focus, believing that change and practical impact happen at a local level.

“Community lives at the heart of the Guild Mortgage brand, and a beautiful picture of that mission can be seen in our partnership with Sackcloth & Ashes,” said Guild Mortgage SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Adam O’Daniel. “By giving a beautiful blanket to a new homeowner and a local shelter in tandem, we’re celebrating an important milestone for a family, while sharing the warmth of home with neighbors who are too often overlooked. This giveaway is just a simple way to remember others and say thank you to our customers and partners who care so much about our communities.”

Founder Bob Dalton was driven to create Sackcloth & Ashes because of his mother’s story. After a string of difficulties resulted in his mother losing her home, Dalton contacted homeless shelters to identify what resources they needed the most. The vast majority of them needed blankets, leading him to create the company.

“Guild’s loan officers are excited about making an impact in their communities, and the reason we love working with them is because they’re all very in touch with the areas they serve,” said Bob Dalton, founder and CEO of Sackcloth & Ashes. “Change is almost always most visible at the local level, and that’s where I see Sackcloth & Ashes and Guild having a lot of overlap. Our new Instagram collaboration will not only shine a light on some really important shelters, but it’ll show our followers that providing people with warmth and protection is one of the simplest things we can do to make a real difference. Anyone can truly make a change.“

The Instagram initiative, concluding January 23, 2026, will involve a series of Instagram posts and stories on both partners’ Instagram accounts. Participants are required to follow both Guild Mortgage and Sackcloth & Ashes and comment their shelter of choice on a campaign post for their nomination to be counted. Winning shelters will be highlighted and selected through a transparent process, with fulfillment and communication managed by both partners. Shelters will also be alerted through emails and pre-vetted by both organizations to ensure their legitimacy. Afterwards, they’ll be highlighted in a static announcement post and recognized for the support they deliver to their communities.