Page 25 - BusinessWest January 6, 2025

We’ve Got Business Lending
Power.
Commercial Lenders VP Darlene Mark & SVP Rob Chateauneuf, with Commercial Loan Officer Catherine Rioux.
Projects We’ve Recently Financed
Commercial Real Estate
$5,600,000
Real Estate Purchase Agawam, MA
Commercial Construction
$400,000
Land Purchase & Development Somers, CT
Commercial Real Estate
$3,746,000
Property Management Springfield & Holyoke, MA
Commercial Term Loan
$76,500
Landscaping Equipment East Longmeadow, MA
Contact our Commercial Lending Team
413-267-1254 or [email protected]
www.monsonsavings.bank MEMBER FDIC I MEMBER DIF
Dan Moriarty (left, with Veronica Garcia, CEO of Latino Marketing Agency, and John Perez, project office manager at the Hispanic- American Institute) enjoys taking many of these big-check photos each year with organizations that benefit from Monson Savings Bank’s giving.
“So United Way has Days of Caring, where teams [of volunteers] will come out, or Habitat for Humanity has a build, where teams will come out, and that’s good for team building. But the company is also saying, ‘you’re not going to do your job today; we’re going to pay you to do some- thing out in the community.’”
That makes a statement about corporate values, which is why Mon- son Savings Bank recently codified it.
“We’re launching a community service day policy where we pay our full-time employees to donate eight hours of a day, or two half-days, to an organization or a nonprofit,” Moriarty said. “We’ve done that kind
of unofficially; now it’s an official policy. We allow employees to donate their time during the work week, and we pay them to go out and support the community. It’s a great thing.”
Such activities also expose employees to the good work being done in the community, and they can be enjoyable, he added. “We’ve had fun helping Revitalize CDC on volunteer projects, or helping out organiza- tions from the United Way to Martin Luther King Family Services to I Found Light Against All Odds, and many others.”
The bank also collects $5 donations from employees every Friday for the ability to wear jeans to work, and those donations are pooled and given to local organizations as well.
At Florence, “volunteerism is a big part of what we do. We encourage it highly in our organization, and we’ll continue to do that,” added Gar- rity, noting that employees have recently volunteered at organizations including Hampshire Regional YMCA, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, Square One, Caring Health Center, and many more.
At UMassFive, Boivin said, “the level of engagement of our employ- ees is high — it’s the culture here to support others in the community, especially with fundraising that we do with Will Bike 4 Food and the Cancer Walk and Run. We raised over 25 grand combined for those two organizations this year.
“And a lot of that comes from grassroots stuff the employees are doing,” he added. “They’re selling baked goods, they’re creating artworks and selling them in the branches, they’re talking to their families and friends, and they’re donating themselves. We really support the causes we care about.”
UMassFive’s community support also extends to elevating local busi- nesses, as it did when it partnered with UMass Athletics and UMass Sports Properties on a recent contest to recognize a small business that demonstrates service, innovation, and community involvement.
The winner, Sexton Roofing & Siding, received an ad package worth
$10,000, allowing it to be featured on digital displays, radio reads, email blasts,
BusinessWest
Giving
Continued on page 29
>>
<< BANKING & FINANCE >>
JANUARY 6, 2025 25