Celebrating Community Bank Outreach #3 — Helping Children

Community banks all over the country exemplify the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child by pitching in to help the children in their local regions. We continue our observation of Community Banking Month by lauding local banks' efforts to support children in their communities.United Community Bank of West Kentucky, located in Morganfield, Kentucky, partnered with the Webster County school district to buy 500 hoodies in a variety of sizes, styles, and colors for Webster County students experiencing homelessness. The bank persuaded community businesses and organizations to cover half the project’s expenses, and Columbia Sportswear offered a discounted price on the hoodies and waived shipping costs. The partners told students that they’d won the hoodies in a raffle to avoid drawing unwanted attention to their situation.Summit Bank and Summit Bank Foundation, headquartered in Danville, California, hold two major annual fundraisers for children’s education and health.The Joe Morgan Memorial Celebrity Golf Tournament, which celebrated its 24th anniversary in July 2022, donates its proceeds toward student scholarships and leukemia research at the University of California San Francisco.The Red & White Ball, held in December 2022 at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, raised money for St. Jude Children’s Medical Center, which uses research and treatment to fight childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.In St. Louis, Missouri, Royal Banks of Missouri teamed up with Harambee Youth Training Corporation to provide career coaching, offer financial education, and assist low- and middle-income young people with opening checking and savings accounts.The Harambee Youth Training Corporation mentors young people, teaching them a particular skill and helping them practice that skill. The most recent focus was learning how to tuck-point, which allowed them to help restore the brick exteriors of homes for low-income neighbors. In the past, the program paid the youth with paper checks, and then many recipients used check-cashing services, which took a big fee from their hard-earned money. Royal Banks of Missouri helped them save money by introducing these young people to banking.Headquartered in Marquette, Michigan, Range Bank has a variety of initiatives to help young people in the communities it serves. Its annual school supply drive raised more than $8K worth of school supplies that they donated to local schools. Their school spirit debit card program rewards each of 15 partner schools every time someone uses a school spirit debit card, totaling more than $50K in donations through the program since 2015.Range Bank also offers a fee-free bank account for teens called My Spend Teen that helps them learn how to manage money, while parents have visibility and control. For younger children, Ranger Kids Club gives kids a membership card, a branded piggy bank, and a prize every time they make a deposit. In addition, first graders in the Marquette area automatically receive a long-term children’s savings account. Graduates get the funds to help pay for college.Alpine Bank in Colorado has used its Children's Hospital Colorado (CHCO) Loyalty Debit Card partnership to donate $1MM to Children’s Hospital Colorado since 2016. Jackie Devine, Alpine Bank’s director of community outreach, serves on the hospital’s leadership council. Alpine Bank staff volunteer at CHCO events, including the annual gala, Courage Classic and Radiothon fundraiser.First Reliance Bank of South Carolina’s CEO Rick Saunders and his wife, Tiffany, participated in the annual “A Night for the Children” gala for the Charleston-based Carolina Youth Development Center. This year’s gala raised nearly $100K to help Carolina Youth Development Center serve as both a childcare facility and community partner to families. The center has helped children in the Charleston area for more than 230Ys and continues to protect children, empower families, and prepare young people for adulthood.These institutions are doing incredible work to support the youth in their communities in a wide variety of ways. We applaud all of our readers who shared their important work with us, and who remind us every day of the unique and vital connection CFIs have with their communities. Join us one last time on April 25 to conclude our celebration of Community Banking Month and highlight even more local banks doing great work for their communities.