Bank highlights its community commitment

OAK RIDGE — Employees at Lakeland Bank donated 15,030 hours of their time — the equivalent of 1.7 years of working 24 hours a day, seven days a week — to community service in 2009. From the management team to entry-level staff, Lakeland Bank employees were encouraged to contribute time and funds to charitable causes in an ongoing commitment to invest in the communities that the bank serves, according to officials, who added Lakeland remains committed to its charitable contributions of both time and funding for in 2010. Activities included: team participation helped contribute to the 18th annual SCARC Foundation Radiothon, which raises money to benefit more than 600 Sussex County residents with developmental disabilities; 84 employees — the largest turnout of all teams involved — participated in the 2009 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes and raised over $8,500; and a team of 14 volunteers helped community members move beyond substandard housing by participating in the Paterson County Habitat for Humanity Corporate Challenge. Additionally, a $50,000 donation in a grant, or $10,000 over the next five years, has been given to the Chilton Memorial Hospital Foundation to be used toward the expansion of its Pediatric Clinic and Comprehensive Breast Center; a $12,000 contribution was given to the Foundation for Sussex County Community College; and a sponsorship of the 28th Annual Sussex County Golf Classic, which supports 18 charities in Sussex County, raised $30,000. The bank also sponsored the 17th Annual West Milford Museum Tennis Tournament. The 37th annual Lakeland Bank Scholarship Golf Outing raised $70,000 for scholarships for high school students in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties. Employees provided programs throughout the year to encourage area students to develop good financial habits. Four local teachers were awarded a prize pack, courtesy of the bank, via WSUS’ “Teacher of the Month” program. More than 2,000 toys and gifts were collected for area children through the bank’s Share-A-Gift and Toys for Tots programs and employees also took shifts during the Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign. The bank also invested in the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation. Lakeland Charities donated more than $30,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the New Jersey Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, United Way of Passaic County, the Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation, the Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center, St. Jude’s Research Hospital, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, The Arc of New Jersey, Passaic County Meals on Wheels Association and the American Heart Association.