Nearly 40 Midwest businesses and banks gathered in Mankato on Feb. 9 to support financial literacy and education —and to bowl a few rounds.
Citizens Community Federal Bank, Altoona, Wis., Bremer Bank, St. Paul, Minn., Community Bank, Mankato, Minn., and seven other banks teamed up to support Junior Achievement, an organization that aims to equip students for financial independence, by participating in its annual BigBowl bowling tournament in Mankato.
Hundreds of BigBowls are held on Thursdays and Fridays between January and May throughout Minnesota, where teams of business professionals compete for the highest fundraising amounts and the lowest bowling scores. JA has hosted annual bowling fundraising events for 25 years, gathering more than 2,500 bowlers from 29 companies each year. The 2017 BigBowl raised nearly $800,000 state-wide. The Mankato chapter of JA held one tournament this month that brought nearly 40 businesses together and raised more than $24,000.
Jaci Sprague, JA Mankato BigBowl staff member, said the banks team up at BigBowl because their missions “align with JA’s mission to empower kids to own their own future.”
While the banks come together around JA’s cause, there’s room for some fun camaraderie at the bowling alley. “There’s always some natural synergy and competition between the banks at BigBowl, whether we planned for it or not,” Sprague said.
In addition to the bowling alley, bankers volunteered at 29 south central Minnesota K-12 classrooms. Their lessons ranged from teaching kindergarteners the difference between “needs” and “wants,” to speaking to high schoolers about the importance of budgeting.