Community Champions Sweepstakes to coincide with Customer Appreciation Week in May

FLORENCE—Florence Bank has announced the launch of a new program that will offer recognition to 11 local residents who are community-minded while also benefitting 11 area nonprofits.

Through the new Community Champions Sweepstakes, customers can cast one vote in their neighborhood branch for a person in their community who goes above and beyond to ensure that residents are safe, healthy and happy. Nominees do not need to be customers of Florence Bank.

There will be one winner selected at random for each of the bank’s 11 branches. Those 11 winners will then have the privilege of selecting an area nonprofit to receive a $500 grant.

The program will coincide with the bank’s Customer Appreciation Week, typically celebrated in May.

“We are excited about this new program that gives our customers an opportunity to say thank you to someone in their community who works hard for the common good,” said Florence Bank President and CEO John F. Heaps Jr. “We like acknowledging Community Champions. This region depends on them, and it’s nice to say thank you.

“We also like that we’re giving these Champions the opportunity to, in turn, recognize an organization of their choice to receive a $500 gift. It creates good will,” Heaps added. “It’s fun!”

Community Champions nominations will be accepted at bank branches from April 15 to May 6. Winners will be announced to the public on Friday, May 10 via Florence Bank’s social media platforms.

The Community Champions will be lauded at celebrations at the individual bank branches from Monday, May 13 through Friday, May 24.

The Community Champions program is similar to Florence Bank’s Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program in that customers get to take part in the voting, and nonprofits benefit.

In March, Florence Bank granted $102,500 to 61 area nonprofits at the Customers’ Choice awards celebration at the Garden House at Look Memorial Park. Heaps handed out 55 checks to nonprofits that night, and also awarded $500 each to six organizations that did not receive enough votes to qualify for an official award.

For additional information about the new Community Champions program, stop in to any of our 11 Florence Bank branches to learn more.

Florence Bank has branches in Amherst, Belchertown, Easthampton, Granby, Hadley, Northampton, Williamsburg, West Springfield, and Springfield, and it is headquartered in Florence.

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 11 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, West Springfield and a new branch located on Allen Street in Springfield. Additionally, they offer 28 ATMs and a wide range of financial services including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses.  Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The post Florence Bank Launches New Program that Acknowledges 11 Local Residents and Benefits 11 Nonprofits appeared first on Beetle Press.

GILFORD—Somehow, Albert Einstein saw it coming. Even though the German physicist was born in 1879, he had a view into today’s world. He saw what we all see daily, countless times.

You’re out with your family or friends, enjoying an outing—in a museum, a restaurant, or even at home at the family table. A simple glance around shows that everyone has their eyes cast downward, their faces often illuminated by a brightly lit screen.

Perhaps because his mind understood scientific possibilities that ordinary people cannot fathom, Einstein knew that, one day, people would be more focused on gaming, reading their emails, or checking the weather than they would be on one another.

He said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”

“We aren’t idiots yet, but it is certainly true that the art of conversation is getting lost, pushed aside by scheduling needs, thoughts that can’t wait, or fear of missing out,” said Allan Beetle, co-owner of Patrick’s Pub and Eatery. “We recognize this growing trend here at Patrick’s, and we want to help give our customers a cyber break.”

Patrick’s has created a simple new program called Sundae Unplugged. Customers who visit the restaurant on Sundays will have the option to commit to enjoying their time sans electronics—phones, tablets, laptops, and even the television. (Unplugged is only available in the dining room, which has no TVs.)

Those families who are successful will be rewarded with an ice cream Sundae, on which they can add a variety of toppings themselves.

“Albert really was a genius. Technology has begun to consume the time that people spend together, in person. We see it often consuming the dining experiences,” says Beetle. “With Unplugged, we hope to give people a little incentive to focus on those they are seated next to and across from, instead of those on the Web.”

According to a recent report by Common Sense Media, the amount of time children ages 8 and younger spend on mobile screens has tripled in four years, from 15 minutes a day in 2013, to 48 minutes a day in 2018.

And then there’s the time adults spend online. According to an article titled “7 Important Reasons to Unplug and Find Space,” by Joshua Becker, studies show some mobile device owners check their technology every 6.5 minutes, even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.

There is value for people of all ages in disconnecting. Researchers have found that one in three people feel more dissatisfied with their lives after spending time on Facebook, as the opportunity for envy presents itself on social media in a variety of ways, from observations of others’ family happiness, to body image, to vacation destinations.

Beetle says, “We say, just tune into your own life and stay there, as often as you are able. Patrick’s is about family and friends and building community. We hope people will use a visit to our Sundae Unplugged as a way to focus on human connections—and enjoy a delicious dessert to boot.”

The post Sweet Incentive for Unplugging at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery appeared first on Beetle Press.