Business and community leaders joined forces this morning in supporting Mercy Housing, Inc., a national non-profit based in Denver that builds and manages affordable housing in Colorado and nationwide.

Lockton Companies was the title sponsor for Mercy Housing’s annual Live in Hope breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. In addition, Tate McCoy, Lockton’s executive vice president, presented Cricket General Manager Joe Zeccola with the Mercy Housing Live in Hope Business Partner of the Year Award for Cricket’s year-long support of the low-income residents at Mercy Housing properties in Colorado.

The annual fundraiser is the year’s most important charitable event for the organization’s Colorado operations. More than 2,000 low-income families with children, seniors and people with special needs live at Mercy Housing’s affordable rental homes in Denver, Durango, Fraser and Fort Collins. In addition to homes that they can afford, residents can take advantage of on-site supportive services to help them build financial stability, education resources and become strong members of their communities.

“The people who call Mercy Housing ‘home’ do not have the economic resources to afford market-rate housing. Their annual household incomes are less than $16,000, on average,” Mercy Housing President Jane Graf told the 150 guests. “They are working people who serve us in restaurants, who check out our groceries, care for our children, are bank tellers, and who take care of us when we are sick.

“The work of Mercy Housing is not about charity. It is about social and economic justice for those who are economically poor in our society,” Graf said.

Last year the Live in Hope event raised more than $100,000 from sponsors and attendees and it is estimated today’s event will bring in a similar amount.

In addition to Lockton Companies, sponsors at the event included Mike and Nancy Zoellner, Stewart Title, CohnReznick, Celtic Marketing, Citi, 90Octane, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., HD Supply, Westrope, Transamerica, Citywide Banks, US Bank, and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

To support Mercy Housing’s mission of providing safe, stable and affordable housing in Colorado for people with low-incomes, donate online at www.mercyhousing.org/co-donate.