Country Bank’s Employee-volunteer Program Evolves

WARE — Country Bank has been supporting local communities for many years, not only through donations, but also with volunteers working at local community events, participating in parades and road races, serving dinner on Thanksgiving Day, feeding the homeless, collecting trash, and building houses for Habitat for Humanity, to name a few efforts.

In 2015, the volunteer program at Country Bank was taken to the next level with the implementation of the Country Bank Cares Community Volunteer Program. This new program offers volunteer opportunities at various events throughout the year to Country Bank staff. Each volunteer hour is logged, and at the end of the year, staff members who volunteered 10 hours or more are awarded a grant to a charity of their choice for either $100 or $250, depending on their total time volunteered.

A total of 109 Country Bank staff members participated in this new program for a total of more than 800 hours of volunteer service. Of those 109, 32 qualified for a grant, for a grand total of $4,100 donated by Country Bank.

“I couldn’t be more pleased at the success of our first year of the Country Bank Cares Program,” said Deb Gagnon, corporate relations officer. “Our staff really came forward and helped out at various events in our towns, and as a result, many nonprofits will benefit from the donation dollars. It is amazing to see the commitment from our staff members and the bank through this program.”