Financial Empowerment
Giving back is at the core of being a community bank. In addition to financially supporting the organizations which make our communities vibrant, our employees give of their time and talents as well. We’re proud of the impact our employees have on the communities they live and work in and the effort they put in on their own time to helping us live our mission.
We also believe in the invaluable investment of financial education. Over the last year, our team members taught more than 625 hours of financial education classes. We couldn’t have done it alone though, it’s through great partnerships with community organizations that the impact of financial education can be seen.
Celebrating Exceptional Teammates
Every life event involves a financial transaction. And we believe one of the primary ways to approach those events with financial confidence is through education.
In response to the economic events in 2009, we established a Financial Education Coordinator role. Anna Frank, who had recently moved to the U.S. after growing up in South Africa, applied for the position that she still holds today.
Since 2009, Anna has provided tailored curriculum based on the needs of the organization, school or business. Built on our four financial habits to manager, save, borrow and protect, our goal is to help more of our neighbors and their businesses be empowered to face their financial future with confidence No on in our industry has done that better than Anna.
Anna has led Nation Choice Reserve not only in providing exceptional financial literacy, but she has earned us multiple recognitions for America Saves Week outreach. She also leads the service sub-committee on our Community Reinvestment Act committee and has earned recognitions from her local NAACP chapter for her volunteerism.
In 2022, Anna was awarded with the American Bankers Association Foundation Community Commitment Award in the Financial Education category. The award honors educational initiatives that raise awareness and build personal finance knowledge from financial literacy programs that impact youth, seniors and bank employees.
Under Anna's charge, in 2022, our employees provided more than 600 hours in financial education to 56 organizations, ranging from financial literacy for elementary age children, to preparing for retirement and scam awareness for retired individuals.