St. Mary’s Bank recently received a Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) 2016 Award of Excellence for its commitment to social responsibility. CCUA—which serves credit unions throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Delaware—evaluated St. Mary’s Bank’s ongoing work with Make-A-Wish, the social responsibility cause adopted by New Hampshire’s credit unions, and other non-profits and selected St. Mary’s Bank as the honoree for the State of New Hampshire.

“The heart of our commitment to the credit union philosophy People Helping People is our employee volunteer program. At St. Mary’s Bank, all employees are encouraged to volunteer for organizations that are close to their hearts,” explains Ron Covey, CEO of St. Mary’s Bank. “We would not have received this recognition were it not for our employee volunteers, and I am deeply proud of the difference they make in communities throughout southern New Hampshire.”


St. Mary’s Bank’s Judi Window, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Ron Covey, CEO, highlight a photograph of employees volunteering over the holidays.

CCUA President Paul Gentile added that CCUA is “proud to recognize credit unions for going above and beyond in promoting a deeper awareness and knowledge of all credit unions by their commitment to advocacy and social responsibility.”

In addition to its work with Make-A-Wish, St. Mary’s Bank boasts a full-time Community Outreach Coordinator who builds relationships with local non-profits so that St. Mary’s Bank can support communities through donations, sponsorships, and volunteer initiatives. These relationships enable St. Mary’s Bank to identify immediate needs in the community and establish institution-sponsored volunteer opportunities that are convenient for employees who would like to participate.


St. Mary’s Bank employees gather at work to fill 100 backpacks for Manchester’s underprivileged students.

Going a step further to promote its culture of volunteerism, St. Mary’s Bank encourages employees to volunteer for causes close to their own hearts—schools, sports, the arts, places of worship, etc.—and tracks, measures, and reports employee volunteer time each quarter.

In 2016, St. Mary’s Bank employees contributed more than $42,000 worth of volunteer time over more than 1,800 hours. These hours include employees giving freely of their personal time as well as 40 percent of their volunteer time that occurred “on-the-clock,” where St. Mary’s Bank excused employees from work responsibilities in order to give back to the community.