MVSB takes the value of stewardship very seriously. We aid the communities we serve in the forms of scholarship, sponsorship and grants. We encourage our employees to take active roles in the community – and we proudly support the more than 12,000 hours of community service offered by them in 2010.
Meredith Village Savings Bank has a long history of providing financial support to the organizations that support our communities. In addition, our employees spent more than 12,000 hours helping community events and organizations last year. The partial listing of organizations below is representative of the community initiatives to which our employees dedicated their time and talents this year.
We thank our employees for their efforts to make our community an even better place to live, work, and play.
If you are interested in having Meredith Village Savings Bank support your non-profit organization, please contact your local office. For a listing, click here.
The Meredith Village Savings Bank James D. Sutherland Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to one graduating senior from each of the following public high schools:
Information and applications for this scholarship are available at guidance offices at the schools listed above
MVSB has participated in the IOLTA program as a Leadership Bank since 2007.
The IOLTA program was created in 1982 when a NH Supreme Court ruling began requiring attorneys to maintain a pooled interest-bearing trust account for clients funds which were nominal in amount or to be held for a short period of time. Under Supreme Court Rule 50, the interest generated in those accounts was required to be transferred to the New Hampshire Bar Foundation for charitable purposes. Since its inception, the IOLTA program has raised more than $28 million to help provide legal services to New Hampshire citizens who are struggling to overcome poverty.
To be designated as a Leadership Bank by the NH Bar Foundation, a bank must pay 2% or higher interest on IOLTAs, exceed the bank’s standard NOW account rate, and waive routine service charges. In 2011, IOLTA accounts at MVSB generated $34,631 in interest revenue for the Bar Foundation.
The Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund makes grants every year to local non-profits that make a significant impact upon the lives of people in the communities we serve. These grants are in addition to the bank’s regular contributions and the extraordinary volunteer efforts by our employees.
Since its inception in 1997 under the leadership of John Starrett, then president and CEO of the Bank, 216 grants totaling more than $796,000 have been awarded to a wide range of environmental, social, educational, and historic projects throughout the Lakes Region and Plymouth area.
If your organization is interested in applying for a grant, please use this application. Note that applications are due annually on October 15.
In 2011, the MVSB Fund awarded 32 community organizations a total of $78,762 in grants, of which $26,992 was split equally among 14 local food pantries.
Appalachian Mountain Teen Project of Wolfeboro, NH
Awarded $2,000 to help fund trips and activity-based programming, offered through their Teen Project and Pathways to Leadership programs, for Lakes Region youth that face challenging life circumstances and have limited financial resources.
Ashland Police Department of Ashland, NH
Awarded $1,000 to purchase a digital camera with lens-changing capability. The new camera will be used to process violent and major crime scenes, as well as thefts, and will replace the police department’s current practice of borrowing a camera from a neighboring police department each time they are in need.
Belknap Regional Special Operations Group (BSOG) of Laconia, NH
Awarded $5,000 to purchase new bullet-proof vests for its members, who provide specialized law enforcement services beyond the capability of the average police agency.
Hands Across The Table of Laconia, NH
Awarded $2,500 to continue to provide a free community meal every Tuesday night at the St. James Church in Laconia. Hands Across The Table serves 100+ meals on real plates each night.
Holderness Afterschool Care & Enrichment (A.C.E.) of Holderness, NH
Awarded $2,500 to expand the program’s current services in response to participant and family feedback to include: middle school leadership and mentoring technology club; year-round children’s theater curriculum; temporary tuition services; 10th year anniversary “Lights On” celebration using green energy; and program evaluation consisting of the production of a Continuous Quality Assurance Plan.
Kingswood Youth Center of Wolfeboro Falls, NH
Awarded $3,500 to install electrical service in the program’s thrift shop – the KYC Kloset. The thrift shop is designed to help teach students in the afterschool program business and money management skills through the real-world scenario of running a thrift shop.
Lakes Region Child Care Services (LRCCS) of Laconia, NH
Awarded $2,000 to provide tuition assistance low income and otherwise impacted families. Grants funds will be allocated to LRCCS’s Financial Assistance Fund, which assists families whose income is at or below 133% of federal poverty guidelines, as well as others who have demonstrated financial need through extenuating circumstances.
Lakes Region Habitat for Humanity of Meredith, NH
Awarded $3,545 to update its current scaffolding to meet OSHA safety standards, and in turn provide a safer workplace for its volunteers.
Meredith Historical Society of Meredith, NH
Awarded $1,500 to replace the existing building sign at the Main Street museum.
Sandwich Children’s Center of Center Sandwich, NH
Awarded $1,500 to accommodate a recent influx of infant enrollments. The Center’s infant enrollment went from zero to seven in just one year, and they have seen a potential for more enrollments in the coming months. Grant funds will be used for professional development, facility improvements, equipment purchases and tuition support.
Sandwich Fire and Rescue Association of Sandwich, NH
Awarded $2,500 to purchase a new cardiac monitor/defibrillator to replace their current equipment that is expensive to support and does not meet current hospital and state standards.
Skatepark of Plymouth of Plymouth, NH
Awarded $5,000 to finish building a skatepark in Plymouth that will provide the 6,200+ children, teenagers and young adults in the Pemi-Baker region with a place to enjoy camaraderie and physical exercise. By the summer of 2012, the skatepark is hoped to triple in size, complete with new concrete features and a winding 8-foot wide concrete gully called a “snake run.”
Spaulding Youth Center of Northfield, NH
Awarded $5,000 to support their two-year enrollment and marketing initiative that is aimed at providing critical information to area schools, state agencies and referral sources for children with special needs. Their year two plan focuses specifically on building awareness and outreach to those managing children with special needs, as well as the launch of a new, interactive website, an electronic newsletter, and updated marketing materials.
The Village Players of Wolfeboro, NH
Awarded $5,000 to help insulate their 19th century historical building, and keep the theater open during the winter months.
Transport Central of Plymouth, NH
Awarded $2,500 to begin serving the towns of Ashland and Holderness through offering coordinated volunteer services to transportation-challenged individuals. This will be accomplished by hiring a Mobility Manager to initiate and coordinate local and regional connections, as well as manage the volunteer driver program. Transport Central plans to provide these services to 19 towns in the Plymouth area by the spring of 2012.
Visiting Nurses of Meredith and Center Harbor of Meredith, NH
Awarded $1,150 to help purchase equipment, including a pulse oximeter, a pediatric stethoscope and a geriatric 3-position reclining chair, for their new community facility located on Waukewan Street in Meredith.
Wolfeboro Area Children’s Center of Wolfeboro, NH
Awarded $2,575 to replace the facility’s 12 cribs in order to meet federal safety standards.
Wolfeboro Cooperative Nursery School of Wolfeboro Falls, NH
Awarded $3,000 to provide tuition assistance to families in need and take the students on educational field trips.
In addition to the grants listed above, fourteen local food pantries – Alton Community Services Food Pantry; Ashland Community Food Pantry; Calvary Bible Church Food Pantry in Meredith; Community Food Center in Tamworth; First Fruits Food Pantry in Sanbornton; Helping Hand Food Pantry of Plymouth; Inreach Ministries Food Pantry in Laconia; L.I.F.E. Ministries Food Pantry of Wolfeboro; Meredith Emergency Food Pantry; Moultonborough United Methodist Church Food Pantry; Plymouth Area Community Closet; St. Vincent de Paul Society of Laconia; The Salvation Army of Laconia; and United Baptist Church Food Pantry in Laconia – were each awarded $1,928 to help feed the struggling families in their service areas.
