Monson Savings Bank’s TGIF Program Raises Funds for MHA’s Good to Go

SPRINGFIELD — Every other Friday, employees of Monson Savings Bank can celebrate Team Giving Initiative Friday (TGIF) by wearing jeans to work, provided they donate $5 to benefit that week’s sponsored nonprofit organization. Recently, the money raised by Monson Savings employees wearing jeans on Friday benefited Good to Go, an initiative of the Mental Health Assoc. (MHA).

“Our TGIFs are all about community support, and we felt MHA was a well-deserving organization,” said Steve Lowell, president of Monson Savings Bank. “MHA programs, including Good to Go, provide valuable services for people in need, and that is what supporting your community is all about. Part of the Monson Savings Bank vision is to be a bank committed to community support, manifested both in leadership and financial resources, reflecting the spirit of mutuality. Team Giving Initiative Friday is a fun way for our employees to express that vision.”

According to Kimberley Lee, vice president of Resource Development and Branding for MHA, Good to Go enables MHA to supply individuals it serves with basic personal items, ranging from shampoo and soap to clothes and shoes.

“People in crisis often arrive at MHA with nothing but the clothes on their back, literally,” Lee explained. “These people are desperately in need of a soft landing, and Good to Go helps provide it. As our friends at Monson Savings understand, Good to Go presents an incredible opportunity for businesses, community-service organizations, volunteer and student groups, individuals, or families to make an immediate, meaningful impact in the lives of vulnerable people. MHA is thrilled that Monson Savings Banks’s TGIF crew is good to go in wanting to make a difference.”

Monson Savings Bank’s TGIF program, which is voluntary, started in 2015 on one Friday a month. Due to popularity and high employee participation, it was increased in 2016 to every other Friday. Employees nominate local nonprofit organizations to benefit on the designated TGIF day.