Unity Bank Employees Donate Time To Local Organizations

Unity Bank President & CEO James A. Hughes (left) with Chip Paillex, President & Founder of America’s Grow-a-Row. Photo: Unity Bank.

Unity Bank employees donated more than 220 volunteer hours to two organizations under the bank’s recently introduced Employee Volunteer Program.

The two organizations were  America’s Grow-A-Row  and NORWESCAP received from 40 bank employees, according to a press release from the bank.

Unity Bank has a Franklin branch on Cedar Grove Lane.

“We launched the employee volunteer initiative to strengthen our community outreach efforts because community involvement is a key part of our mission,” Unity Bank President and CEO James A. Hughes said in the release. “This effort has also provided an unanticipated benefit for employees – allowing our staff to work together and to get to know each other outside the bank. There is no corporate hierarchy when it comes to hands-on volunteer activities like picking corn and fresh produce for food banks. The volunteer program enables employees from different departments, branches and levels of seniority to share experiences and interact on a deeper level, resulting in stronger relationships.”

America’s Grow-a-Row is a Hunterdon County non-profit organization that grows and gleans fresh fruits and vegetables that are donated to those facing hunger throughout New Jersey. Every month during growing and picking  season, Unity Bank sends out a team of employees to Grow-a-Row’s Pittstown and Milford farms to plant, pick and glean produce for foodbanks across New Jersey. Unity also sponsored Grow-a-Row’s 4th Annual Farm to Fork fundraiser and received the organization’s 2016 Growing with You Rookie of the Year Award.

For NORWESCAP, a non-profit organization providing a wide range of services for those in need, Unity Bank volunteers provide monthly administrative and organizational support for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Cancer Education and Early Detection (CEED), a screening and education program designed for those underinsured or uninsured. Unity also sponsors NORWESCAP’s Annual Transitions 5K Walk/Run and the organization’s Celebration Brunch fundraiser.

“Many employees let us know that they wanted to volunteer, but found it hard to find the time after work or on weekends so we have given them the opportunity to step away from their desks once a month and contribute during work hours,” Hughes said in the release. “The feedback from employees on the volunteer initiative has been very positive. It’s been a fun and rewarding program.”

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