Merchants Bank of Indiana is committed to the communities we serve. In 2018, we launched the MPACT Program to foster and support our corporate initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together through employee volunteer service hours.
With the launch of the MPACT Program, we wanted to encourage and foster the ideals of community service and adopted a new culture of volunteerism by donating both time and resources to encourage our employees to get more involved and make an “MPACT” in the communities where they live, work and play. Each Merchants employee is awarded 16 PTO hours per year to use towards local volunteer services. In keeping with the mission and core values of Merchants Bank and its employees, involvement within our communities is focused on advancing affordable housing, connecting people in their communities, promoting and improving education and financial literacy, stimulating community and economic development, and supporting the interests of employees and customers.
Last month, we hosted the first-ever MPACT Awards to recognize our dedicated employees and thank them for their valued service.
We named four 2018 MPACT Catalyst winners. These individuals were selected from various markets for making an impact in the program or creating a change in the mindset for volunteer efforts.
- Aretha Hutchins (Merchants Capital, Carmel)
- Kelley Leix (Merchants Bank, Carmel)
- Dinese Watson (Merchants Bank, Lynn)
- Josh Canan (Merchants Capital, Saint Paul)
We also recognized Angela Mazura (Merchants Mortgage, Carmel) as our 2018 Volunteer of the Year and awarded her with a surprise $1,000 check for her incredible efforts as a mentor for a future homeowner through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.
Over the course of 2018, our team members joined together for a variety of activities where groups of volunteers could participate. This included the MPACT Service Day to preserve, enhance and develop high-quality affordable housing in Indianapolis’ best neighborhoods, a Habitat for Humanity home rehabilitation project, and a backpack give-away for IPS students in Indianapolis through Indy Backpack Attack and Partners in Housing. We also provided meals at St. Vincent House for families with seriously ill family members experiencing financial hardship, adopted several families to provide Thanksgiving meals and Christmas presents, and collected donations for the Horizon House – just to name a few.
In 2018, more than 50 employees logged a total of 520 volunteer hours in the communities we serve. Nearly 400 of those hours were put towards Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community development in Indianapolis, and another 41 hours were dedicated to CRA community development in Lynn, Indiana. CRA is federal regulation designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
