Daily News

Country Bank, Worcester Red Sox Announce Community Giving Campaign

WARE — Country Bank and the Worcester Red Sox have announced a community giving campaign to support nonprofit leaders throughout the region.

To kick off the campaign, dubbed “WooStars,” Country Bank recognized 11 local nonprofits at Polar Park, including Springfield-based organizations Friends of the Homeless, Ronald McDonald House, Christina’s House, and Habitat for Humanity, along with Worcester-based organizations the United Way, Why Me, Sherry’s House, Provision Ministry, St. John’s Food Pantry for the Poor, the Boys and Girls Club, and Habitat for Humanity. Each nonprofit was presented with a $5,000 check from Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank. Representatives of the nonprofits also participated in a television commercial to support the campaign.

Country Bank and the Worcester Red Sox Foundation will select nine additional nonprofit leaders who have stepped up to the plate to serve their community. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 15. Each winner will receive a $5,000 donation to their nonprofit and will be recognized at a presentation in Polar Park on Sept. 9. A total of $90,000 will be donated this year through the WooStar campaign.

“One of the most important goals of our partnership with the Worcester Red Sox is to find ways for us to collectively give back to our communities in an impactful and meaningful way. Country Bank is deeply rooted in supporting its communities and a value that we have lived by for 171 years,” said Shelley Regin, the bank’s senior vice president of Marketing, adding that “this campaign rewards those doing the life-changing work out there.”

In addition, the bank has also launched a Most Valuable Teacher (MVT) campaign that recognizes the outstanding work teachers do every day to educate and support students. Country Bank has a long-standing Teacher of the Month campaign to support teachers in the region, so it is exciting to partner with the WooSox to make the MVT campaign even more rewarding for teachers and students.

“We are continually inspired by the unrelenting community outreach of Country Bank,” WooSox President Charles Steinberg said. “Our shared interest in education is leading us to recognize some of our unheralded heroes — our MVTs, or Most Valuable Teachers. We look forward to shining the spotlight in the sunlight on our educators, and we thank Country Bank yet again for their splendid partnership.”

The public is invited to nominate a WooStar or Most Valuable Teacher by clicking here or here to complete a simple nomination form.