Date: 11/6/2015
PITTSFIELD – Berkshire Bank and The Berkshire Bank Foundation announced today that they were honored with seven Financial Marketing Awards for their work in the community and leading edge products.
The bank received the following prestigious awards:
• Community Champion Award – for their overall philanthropic work;
• Civic Involvement Award – honoring their corporate volunteer efforts;
• Brand Award, First Place Winner – for their Celebrity X team ambassador campaign featuring hockey legend Ray Bourque and current player Milan Lucic ;
• Deposit Award, Second Winner – for their Veteran’s Checking and 3x3x3 CD Products;
• Loan Award, Second Place Winner – for their Construction Loan Package;
• Public Relations Award- Second Place Winner – for their Hampden Conversion Communications; and
• Service Award, First Place Winner – for their Client Services Package.
All awards were presented at a ceremony at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut on Sept. 23.
The awards from the Financial Marketing Association are the oldest and most respected financial marketing awards in New England. Their annual awards program honors banks and credit unions in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont for creative marketing and branding efforts while the Community Champion Award recognizes a bank or credit union for the difference they make in the community.
The Community Champion and Civic Involvement awards recognized Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Bank Foundation’s philanthropic investments in the community through their charitable grants, corporate giving, in-kind donations and employee volunteerism through their XTEAM volunteer program. Annually Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Bank Foundation provide more than $2 million to important community organizations and scholarships to high school seniors with a record of academic excellence and financial need. In addition to financial support, the XTEAM, their nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program, provides employees with paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours.
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Berkshire Bank also announced recently that it was named by the Boston Business Journal as one of Massachusetts Most Charitable Companies at the publication’s annual Corporate Citizenship Summit in Boston on Sept. 17.
The Boston Business Journal is one of the leading sources for business news, research, and events in the greater Boston area. Each year the Journal honors a select list of companies for their charitable work in the community at their annual Corporate Citizenship Summit. Berkshire Bank ranked No. 42 for total financial contributions with over $1.1 million donated in Massachusetts alone and more than $2 million donated overall. The bank also ranked No. 3 for their employee’s volunteer efforts. Berkshire Bank joined a select list of statewide, national and international companies honored at the event.
“We are proud to receive this award in recognition of all our investments in the community,” Lori Gazzillo, vice president and director of Berkshire Bank’s Charitable Foundations, said. “We provided financial support to nearly 500 non-profit organizations and our employees contributed donated volunteer time valued at $1.18 million in 2014. This honor is a testament to all our employees who are rolling up their sleeves and making a difference in their local communities every day.”
The award recognized Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Bank Foundations’ philanthropic investments in the community through their charitable grants, corporate giving, scholarships, in-kind donations and employee volunteerism.
Annually Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Bank Foundation provide more than $2 million to important community organizations as well as scholarships to high school seniors with a record of academic excellence and financial need. In addition to financial support, the XTEAM, the bank’s nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program, provides employees with paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours.
In 2014, more than 70 percent of Berkshire Bank’s employees donated more than 40,000 hours of service to benefit community organizations across the bank’s service area.
