Pub. 1 2012 Issue 8

16 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s E VERY YEAR, THE FOURTH SATURDAY OF OCTOBER is designated Make a Difference Day. This event, which was started in 1992 by USA Weekend magazine, encour - ages Americans to get involved by helping others through volunteer activities. While one day of volunteerism is a wonderful thing, we know that banks make a difference in their communities every day of the year. We celebrated that fact at the ABAAnnual Convention in San Diego with our Habitat for Humanity Build and our annual Community Commitment Awards. The Habitat build, which is sponsored each year by the ABAHousing Partners Foundation, shines a national spotlight on what banks across the country do locally to support housing. As with so many charitable projects, it was made possible by donations of time, talent and treasures from banks and their employees. More than 100 volunteers on-site wielded hammers, paint brushes and saws to help put a hard-working family in a home to call their own. Bankers building homes may not get the same media attention as fore- closures, but the build helped to demonstrate – to the family, neighbors, mayor and others in that corner of San Diego – how committed the men and women who make up the banking industry are to serving others. That commitment also took center stage – literally – when we recognized five banks withABA’s newCommunity CommitmentAwards. The awards, a successor to our Community Bank Awards program, honored banks for their achievements in five categories: Affordable Housing; Economic Development; Small Business Lending; and Financial Volunteerism and Philanthropy. This year’s winners were: • Doral Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico, for its d Hogares (of Homes) program, which has helped more than 25,000 families secure their home. The initiative includes a loss-mitigation program as well as a home donation program, which helps families have or keep a home during tough economic times. • Citibank, NewYork, N.Y., for the Citi CommunityDevelopment partner - ship with The WorkPlace to expand its Platform to Employment (P2E) program. Thanks to Citi, the P2E program, which offers counseling, skills assessment and job matching services to put the long-term unemployed back to work, now includes financial recovery training to address the personal finance challenges experienced due to long-termunemployment. • U.S. Bank, Minneapolis, Minn., for its Community Restoration Funds established in Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis. This $1 million revolving loan commitment makes capital available to pre-approved neighborhood developers who work as a part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. • Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara, Calif., for its “Banking on our Youth” program in which they partnered with local non-profit organizations and schools to offer expanded financial education classes. Offerings included a six-week summer financial literacy program for at-risk students and bilingual-parent workshops. WASHINGTON UPDATE NOVEMBER 2012: MAKING A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY Frank Keating, President and CEOAmerican Bankers Association continued on page 18