Nearly a third of the banks in Minnesota took part in Minnesota Bankers Community Impact Week, an attempt to further banks’ volunteerism and active roles in their communities. Ninety-six banks, and more than 250 branches, committed to a wide array of volunteer opportunities throughout the state during the week of Sept. 18-22.
“The extraordinary level of volunteer participation by Minnesota banks in this campaign demonstrates their deep commitment to the communities they serve,” Minnesota Bankers Association President Joe Witt said.
“There are so many headline stories lately of bad things happening in the world,” said Mark White, MBA chairman and CEO of First National Bank, Coleraine. “That’s why it’s so important that we shine a brighter light on the positive community-building work happening in our communities.
One of the participating banks was National Bank of Commerce of Duluth, where associates planted 3,000 trees along the Western Waterfront Trail which runs along the St. Louis River estuary. The planting of trees corresponds to the bank’s collection of plastic bottles leading up to the event. NBC vowed to plant one tree for every plastic bottle collected. A variety of trees were planted, some requiring protection from animals. The bank worked alongside the City of Duluth, Community Action Stream Corps and the Urban Forest Commission to make this project possible.