Boys and Girls Club Wins First Place Vote
WARREN, Ohio -- The voting is complete for First Place Bank’s “Lifting Hearts” holiday toy drive and the Boys and Girls Club is this year's winner, Tom Shafer, CEO of the bank, announced Wednesday.
The public selected one of three United Way agencies to be the recipient of the toys and gifts to distribute to the children it serves.
“As a community bank, we wanted our neighbors’ input on the organization that touched their hearts most," Shafer said.
Since the Boys and Girls Club received the most votes, the club will be the recipient of all the toys and gifts collected in the bank's holiday toy drive, he said.
To participate in the Lifting Hearts holiday toy drive, the public may bring new unwrapped toys and gifts to any First Place Bank branch through Dec. 18. Once the items are collected, the local Boys and Girls Club will distribute them to the needy children and teens it serves.
“We’re thankful to First Place Bank and the public for making the holidays nicer for the kids we serve,” said Ruthie King, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club. “We appreciate being selected in the Lifting Hearts voting campaign, and we can’t wait to distribute the gifts collected in the toy drive.”
A total of 2,324 votes were cast in the Lifting Hearts campaign. First Place Bank will make a monetary donation to the two other worthy United Way organizations in the running, the Salvation Army and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
First Place Bank is a subsidiary of Talmer Bancorp Inc. headquartered in Troy Mich.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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