I've always loved the Fargo-Moorhead area. It's beautiful, and even in a larger city (for the upper Midwest, anyway), there is such a sense of community. When someone is in trouble, there is abundant material and financial support. Conjoined twins, naturally-occurring quadruplets? No problem. Cancer diagnosis? Covered.
This article really comes as no surprise because of my experiences there. But it's amazing nonetheless. The following is an article from the Fargo Forum, and you can access it here: http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=186429§ion=news .
Local bank gives $1,000 to employees to help others
Kim Winnegge, The Forum
Published Monday, December 17, 2007
State Bank & Trust employees were surprised with an unusual holiday request during their annual Christmas party Saturday night – by way of a $502,000 “Pay it Forward” initiative.
Chief Operating Officer Michael Solberg announced that each full-time employee will receive $1,000 and each part-time employee will receive $500 to use towards individuals, families and organizations in need.
The bank asked each employee to document the good deed with a video camera.
“We’re going to really see some huge impact on our community,” Solberg said.
There are over over 500 employees at the privately-owned bank, Solberg said.
Employees may select an individual cause, pool their money for a larger project, or collaborate with donors outside of the bank, according to a news release.
The only stipulation with the initiative is that employees don’t use the funds on themselves, their families, or families of other bank employees.
The deadline for the project is June 30.
“This is going to be a year of giving,” Solberg said.
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Our church in Las Vegas did something like this...but $1,000? That's an amazing amount of money. It will be interesting to see what good things come about from this "Pay It Forward" project.