By Bank Doing 170 Good Deeds to Celebrate 170th Anniversary
You can put your money where your mouth is, or you can put your money where your heart is, and for a bank based in upstate New York, that philosophy is paying huge dividends for its community.
Ulster Savings Bank (USB) has been a fixture in the Hudson Valley since 1851. For commemorate its 170th anniversary On April 12, the institution launched an initiative to celebrate with “170 acts of kindness.”
“As a mutual savings bank, we were created for the benefit of our clients and the community, we do not have shareholders. That allows us to keep all the profits locally and reinvest in the community in various ways, ”explained the bank’s CEO and president, Bill Calderara, on the company’s website.
“Celebrating our 170th anniversary with so many random acts of kindness is our way of spreading kindness and supporting our community after a challenging year.”
Since the effort began, the Ulster Savings community outreach team has donated toys and puzzles to a local homeless shelter, as well as stuffed animals to an area child abuse prevention center.
They’ve also picked up the bill for everything from trash pickup, haircuts, pizza, groceries, restaurant meals, flowers, and coffee, to New York State auto inspection fees at local garages – all to alleviate the concerns of local citizens that I have been financially impacted by COVID-19.
“Especially in times of crisis, responding to [the] the critical needs of the community are paramount, ”explains a statement on the bank’s website.
Beginning in March 2020, USB “proactively distributed $ 64,500 to immediately support local efforts to provide much-needed food and other essential services during the COVID-19 crisis.”
But the community-focused bank had a well-earned reputation for philanthropy long before the pandemic. Twenty years ago, in honor of the bank’s 150th anniversary, Ulster Savings created its internal charitable foundation, the Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation, to “assist the community in the areas of education, housing, and health / human services.”
“We were founded for our clients and for the benefit of the community in general. That is part of our DNA, ”Calderara said in an interview with WRNQ-92. Annie in the morning. “We take a good part of our annual profits and give it back to the community in donations.”
Last year, in response to the pandemic, USB awarded nearly $ 600,000 in grants. While money is certainly a much-needed boost, Calderara says everyone who works for USB is also committed to sharing time. “Our goal is for 100% of employees to volunteer every year,” he told Annie. (That works out to roughly 10,000 man-hours of community service a year.)
Is it any wonder that this big-hearted bank enjoys a high rate of return on customer loyalty for its philanthropic ways? We know that it certainly piqued our interest.
SPEND the good works by sharing this story …
