More Than Merely Casual – Our Jeans Day Fund Gives Back
Just because we don jeans on a Friday or Saturday doesn’t mean it’s without purpose. In fact, it’s one of our most cherished traditions as employees at Auburn Savings. Where other businesses may have a casual Friday, we have a casual Friday (or Saturday) with meaning. Read on to find out why our denim equates to charitable donations.
Jeans Day is more than a casual Friday or Saturday at Auburn Savings–it’s giving back!
What is it?
Our Jeans Day Fund is a collection of contributions made by employees each Friday and Saturday in exchange to wear jeans. On Fridays employees donate $2 and on Saturdays a donation of $1 allows us to wear jeans with our Auburn Savings attire. We also add in other days, such as National Wear Red Day, Breast Cancer Awareness, and other causes for an additional $1 in order to wear the specified color (instead of Auburn Savings attire) on that day to help raise awareness.
Where do the funds go?
Throughout the year, the Jeans Day Committee meets regularly, looking at local non-profits and charitable organizations within our community that could benefit from donations. Depending on the organization, we’ll take the money saved from the employee contributions and make either a monetary donation or a tangible donation of products or items the organization needs, such as toilet paper, school supplies, games, clothes, blankets, jackets, food and other items.
The Committee.
The Jeans Day Committee consists of 4-5 Auburn Savings employees who donate their time to meet, discuss, and vote on how the funds in our account will be distributed. The current committee consists of Elana, Alicia, Aimee, and Megan. In addition to making donations, we also offer our time to volunteer in our local community, many times having other Auburn Savings employees join us.
Who we’ve touched.
The Jeans Day Fund has had the honor of donating to the following local entities:
- Triple Crown 5K Series
- Tree Street Youth
- Local Food Pantries
- United Way Androscoggin
- Coats for Kids
- Teen Challenge
- Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice
- Boys & Girls Club of Auburn
- Lewiston High School Homeless Liaison Program
- American Heart Association
- Alzheimer’s Association
- Muscular Dystrophy Association
- Tainter’s Fight For A Cure
Annual Giving Tree
For the past four years the Jeans Day Fund has supported our annual Giving Tree. Each year the committee chooses a local organization in need. From Thanksgiving through the end of January we collect items the organization has told us they are in need of. Donations are generously made by employees as well as customers who wish to contribute. Once the collection period has ended, the committee then delivers the items to the chosen organization, accompanied by an additional donation of $500 (either by check or specific items requested by the organization). Our past recipients include, Tree Street Youth, Lewiston High School Homeless Liaison Program, and the Boys & Girls Club of Auburn.
This year’s recipient, St. Martin De Porres, is a homeless shelter for men and women in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Auburn Savings employees and customers brought in nonperishable food items throughout the months of December and January to be distributed to the shelter. In addition to the donated food items, the Jeans Day Fund made it possible to give a $500 donation by check.
Why we do it.
We do it to facilitate change, develop awareness, and increase community involvement by actively participating in programs and non-profit organizations that seek to better the communities in which Auburn Savings serves. There is nothing more rewarding than making a donation of something like toilet paper—something we can take for granted—and sharing tears of joy with the organization because it’s such a great need that is so easily overlooked.
As we are a small bank of only 17 employees and the weekly donations take time to build in our account, we strive to make every penny count and make the most of our donations. We are here to help our local community in any way we can. Although it may not be thousands of dollars at a time, the funds we donate come from each individual employee with genuine compassion and the desire to make a positive impact in our community even in the smallest ways.
Sincerely,
Megan Moody
Branch Manager, Loan Officer