PO Box 990
Manchester, NH 03105-0990
(603) 669-4600
1-888-786-2791 

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release:
November 9, 2012

Contact:          Elizabeth Stodolski
                        (603) 629-1430
                        estodolski@stmarysbank.com

Giving Back
The nation’s first credit union remains committed to the local community

MANCHESTER, NH—November 9, 2012— Like many of his colleagues, St. Mary’s Bank commercial credit analyst Aaron Nolin understands that his commitment to customers continues past the end of the workday.

You may find him at the UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center in Goffstown, sprucing up the place, or at Camp Foster in Bedford, spending a weekday stowing boats at the end of the season, just a few of the activities Aaron counts among his volunteer work with Granite United Way.

Aaron’s volunteer spirit is admirable, and it isn’t unusual: he’s one of many St. Mary’s employees whose generosity and volunteerism have made the credit union a United Way Pacesetter Organization.

“We understand that part of doing business is giving back, to our members and to the greater community,” says Ronald H. Covey, Jr., St. Mary’s Bank President and CEO. “As a credit union, we are committed to the philosophy of ‘people helping people.’ Our community outreach and support of the United Way provide strong evidence of that commitment.”

As a Pacesetter Organization, St. Mary’s recently completed its 2012 Granite United Way Campaign, collecting pledges for collection next year primarily through payroll deductions or billing. This year’s total pledges, employees and corporate, was $52,536.

“We had 60 percent employee participation this year, which means a majority of our employees donate,” says Tom Champagne, St. Mary’s Bank Director of Community Outreach. “We have some individuals who contributed at the Leadership level, which is a donation of $1,000 or more.”

St. Mary’s support of United Way goes back decades and over the past ten years has resulted in total contributions of more than half a million dollars.

Making this contribution possible, of course, are St. Mary’s Bank employees. Champagne serves as St. Mary’s United Way Campaign coordinator, and Don St. Germain, Executive Vice, President, Chief Lending Officer, chairs the leadership giving division that includes the Alexis de Tocqueville Society, which recognizes gifts of $10,000 or more.

Aaron, who has worked at the bank for eight years, is an original member of the United Way’s Emerging Leaders Society, serves as Vice Chair of the Volunteer Committee, and earlier this year helped coordinate the “Hammers and Hearts Day," a volunteer service day at UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center in Goffstown.

In addition to the annual campaign, St. Mary’s Bank employees also participate in the Day of Caring each year, with up to two dozen staffers becoming involved in the annual event. For the past two years, one St. Mary’s crew has helped in the seasonal closure of the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester’s Camp Foster in Bedford, storing boats, covering the pool, and doing general clean up. “

People like Aaron, Tom and Don, and many others here understand the importance of active citizenship and civic pride,” says Covey. “We work in this community, we live in this community, and we take pride in our home. That means working together to make it a better place to live, work and play – and that means giving back.”