Community Involvement

As both a company and a group of people, there is little we value more than our communities. We dedicate ourselves to making them stronger and healthier at every level. That is why First National Bank is proud to be a visible part of the communities we serve. Along with a variety of community sponsorships and involvement in the Johnson County School Districts, we have the Community Outreach Committee and encourage our employees to give back to the community every single day.

Community Outreach Committee

The purpose of the First National Bank Community Outreach Committee is to foster a commitment to the community by encouraging charitable giving to organizations in our service area. Every department has their own COC representative to assist their employees in raising money or donating to a variety of charities and non-for-profits. Each month a different organization is chosen for our bank wide support. Even though the economy has made giving a tougher decision for many families, the employees of First National Bank have increased their donations by 21% over the last year.

Monthly charities supported so far in 2010 are:

February - Harvesters

• As Kansas City's only food bank, Harvesters is a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products. They help people by collecting food and household products from community and industry sources, distributing those products and providing nutrition services through a network of nonprofit agencies, and offering leadership and education programs to increase community awareness of hunger and generate solutions to alleviate hunger.
  
  Throughout the month of February, all seven First National Bank banking centers will be collecting food and home products for Harvesters. If you would like to make a donation, please remember that all food must be non-perishable and in a can, box or other non-breakable container. The following is a list of Most Needed Food/Household Supplies/Personable Items are:
  • Canned vegetables
  • Caned fruit
  • Boxed Meals (Hamburger Helper, Past Roni, etc.)
  • Canned Meats/Tuna
  • Peanut Butter/Jelly (no glass jars please)
  • Canned Soup
  • Hot/Cold Cereal
  • Soap
  • Deodorant
  • Shampoo
  • Toilet Paper

Employee Contribution to the Community

Every day, First National Bank employees take time out of their busy schedules to be an advocate for numerous non-for-profit organizations in the Kansas City metro area. Not only do they volunteer their time outside of work, every employee may use up to two paid hours a month for community service completed during normal scheduled work hours. These non-for-profits include:

American Heart Association	Girl Scouts	Shadow Buddies
Autism Alliance	Habitat for Humanity	Solace House
Big Brothers Big Sisters	The Junior League of Kansas City	Special Olympics
Boy Scouts of America	MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault)	TLC for Children and Families
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children)	Ozanam	Toys for Tots
City Union Mission	Spofford	Treads and Threads
Flashes of Hope	SafeHome	United Way

This Month's Featured Non-Profit:

MOCSA

The Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, otherwise known as MOCSA, exists to lessen the ill effects of sexual assault and abuse through prevention, education, intervention, treatment and advocacy. Sexual violence is not something that happens to other people in other places. It can−and does−happen everyday right here in Kansas City, devastating the victims and their families. Consider these facts:

• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually abused in their lifetime
• 1 in 8 women have been raped
• A rape is reported in the greater Kansas City area every other day. Only 16% of all rapes are ever reported
• Over 80% of sexual violence is committed by someone the victim knows, not by a stranger
• Children, young women ages 15-25 and persons with developmental disabilities are the most frequent victims of sexual violence

The damage done by sexual violence can last a lifetime. Through their programs, MOCSA hopes to prevent these crimes from happening and help victims become survivors.

MOCSA continues to rely on the time, energy, and commitment of their volunteers. MOCSA Volunteers provide services to the community that otherwise would not exist. To find out about volunteer opportunities and how to apply, download this pdf or go to mocsa.org.

Involvement with Johnson County School Districts

First National Bank is very much involved with all of the school districts in Johnson County. We take pride in the essence of learning, and want to take part of educating the children in the community. Recently, one of our larger activities was the First National Bank 2009 Business Plan Competition.

First National Bank partnered with the Shawnee Mission School District Career and Technical Education department to enable SMSD students in grades 11 and 12 to participate in the first FNB Business Plan Competition. The goal of the competition was to encourage students in these hard economic times to develop new business ideas, and to write a business plan for their ideas.

23 students submitted their own business plan for either a start-up or early venture company addressing the business concept and incorporating implementation. The plans consisted of an array of business ideas including a magazine, a veterinary, a restaurant, a lawn care service, and a costume shop.

After a week long judging process three finalists were chosen. On April 15, 2009 Melissa Arroyo from Shawnee Mission North, and Shelby Briney and Robyn Rogers, both from Shawnee Mission West, presented their business plans to a panel of 5 judges from First National Bank.

On Friday, May 1, 2009, Mimsy Winston, Marketing Specialist of First National Bank and Terry Byfield, Resource Specialist of Career and Technical Education of the Shawnee Mission School District, announced the grand prize winner by surprising her in the middle of English class at her school.

Melissa Arroyo was awarded a $5,000 grant for her business plan for "Red Journal", a free, local magazine that will advise, inspire and will give teenagers a voice. She can use this grant as start-up costs for the business idea or scholarship monies for college education expenses. She will also have the opportunity to present her business plan to First National Bank’s executive team, including the bank president, Mike Earleywine, and to one of the bank's Small Business Luncheons in Fall 2009.

Melissa Arroyo was awarded a $5,000 grant for her business plan for "Red Journal", a free, local magazine that will advise, inspire and will give teenagers a voice. She can use this grant as start-up costs for the business idea or scholarship monies for college education expenses.

Johnson County Sun article. [307KB PDF]

Shawnee Dispatch article. [56KB PDF]