DEFIANCE, Ohio, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Amid a global pandemic that's forcing people to separate, one local company is celebrating two years of bringing people together.
The GIVES program was conceived in April 2018 as a way for State Bank employees to give back to their colleagues and community that support them. "It's enabled us to allocate financial resources and involve our staff in this philanthropic community development initiative," said Mark Klein, CEO of State Bank.
GIVES is an acronym for Gathering Individuals to Volunteer, Empower, and Serve. To date, the program has generated an investment of time, talent, and resources of $603,900 for communities and organizations in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.
Since 2018, more than half of State Bank's 250 employees have donated nearly 2,300 hours of their own free time at 95 events. And the State Bank GIVES Truck has traveled more than 5,000 miles to events all over the area, allowing the State Bank team to deepen their connections to the communities they serve.
"The combined efforts of GIVES participants have raised funds for many types of community-minded non-profit organizations, including food banks, children's homes, women's shelters, and neighborhood associations," said GIVES Coordinator Renee Ruffer.
Serving others through the GIVES program also allows State Bank employees to get to know community members on a different level. "We're very thankful to be present at so many events," said Laura Hossler from State Bank's Bowling Green office. "We've had very positive feedback, and people have even started to seek us out at certain events. We're being recognized as the friendly community bank that cares. The connections we've made because of GIVES have been wonderful."
State Bank's customers benefit, too. "Each time we go to a prep meeting for a GIVES event, we remind each other that the most important thing is how we treat those we're serving," said Erica Smay, a Credit Analyst at the Defiance office. "The GIVES program challenges us to sharpen our customer service skills and work through new situations as they arise. We then bring what we learn back to the bank, share those stories with our teams, and put the lessons into action with our customers."
State Bank has been helping customers and local businesses facing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of mid-April, the bank has approved 414 Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications totaling $75 million. State Bank also assisted 588 consumers and businesses with loan forbearances designed to improve cash flow representing over $161 million in loans.
For more details on the GIVES program or to request help with your non-profit organization's event, visit https://www.YourStateBank.com/GIVES.
About SB Financial Group
Headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, SB Financial is a diversified financial services holding company for the State Bank & Trust Company (State Bank). State Bank provides a full range of financial services for consumers and small businesses, including wealth management, private client services, mortgage banking, and commercial and agricultural lending, operating through a total of 20 offices; 19 in nine Ohio counties and one in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and 22 full-service ATMs. The Company has six loan production offices located throughout the tri-state region of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. SB Financial's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "SBFG".
In May 2019, SB Financial was ranked #94 on the American Banker Magazine's list of Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks and Thrifts based on three-year average return on equity ("ROE").
SOURCE SB Financial Group
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