Banks and Coastal Habitat for Humanity Join

James Vaccaro, president/CEO, Manasquan Savings Bank, and his team helped kick-off the summer initiative on June 11th. The team installed a subfloor
during their build.
Banks and Coastal Habitat for
Humanity Join Forces for Sandy Relief
T
ragedies bring people together. Hurricane Sandy, with all
its horrific effects on so many people in New Jersey, has
brought forth an enormous outpouring of support from
individuals, businesses and institutions. Banks and their employees have been an important part of this effort in a variety
of ways.
One of these ways involved volunteering for reconstruction
projects, including the Bankers Build initiative sponsored and
supported by NJBankers in cooperation with Coastal Habitat for
Humanity — an initiative so successful it not only garnered more
support from individual banks than originally anticipated, it was
extended to accommodate all the bank employees volunteering
to participate.
Coastal Habitat for Humanity has been active in Monmouth
County, where Sandy struck particularly hard, since 1994. When
the hurricane came along, it focused on making some of the area’s most damaged housing livable again. Bankers Build is the
first time banks and Habitat have formally cooperated on a project such as this, though individual bank employees have long
been Habitat volunteers.
Michael P. Affuso, executive vice president and director of
4 November 2013
government relations at NJBankers, who coordinated this joint
bank-Coastal Habitat effort, said that “we actually could have
done even more. Had I known the level of support [we got] I
would have promised more. But I didn’t want to over promise.
I wanted to be sure we succeeded with what we did promise.”
How Bankers Build Worked
Teams from 27 banks, each usually consisting of eight to 10 bank
employees, were given a paid day from their regular jobs to take
part. In addition to supplying these volunteers, banks contributed $100 per volunteer. Some banks had so many volunteers
they sent more than a single eight or 10-person team over the
life of the project.
Though not totally leveled by the storm, houses these teams
worked on all had major problems. Most had significant water in
basements and first floors. Serious restoration and reconstruction were required.
The level of construction experience and skills among the
volunteers were highly varied, according to Affuso. “In every
10-person bank team there were usually two or three who have
at least some construction experience. But there was something
for everyone to do. The person who cleans up means persons
with more [construction] skills can do their work more easily.”
It was quality work, too. “Houses are not left unfinished,” said
Affuso. “They are in absolute move in condition when we finish.”
The Bankers’ Perspective
There were a number of reasons why participating banks were so
enthusiastic about Bankers Build. James S. Vaccaro, president
and CEO of Manasquan Savings Bank, noted some of them.
“We have a responsibility to the community we service,” he
said, “and there was tremendous pain here.” Bankers Build “was
part of discharging that responsibility.”
Manasquan sent its first volunteer team on June 11th and
another two weeks later. “There were approximately 25 bank employees in all,” said Vaccaro. None had specialized construction
or design backgrounds “but most are homeowners and have
those [related] skills, but above all, each and every participant
was enthusiastic by having the opportunity to give back.”
Overall, he reported, “it was a wonderful experience for our
people. A great team building exercise. A chance to take off the
suits and put on the jeans ... to look beyond just applications and
see things a bit differently.”
The feeling of accomplishment that came from working on
Bankers Build was a major benefit to all volunteers. John W.
Alexander, chairman, president and CEO of Northfield Bank,
pointed out how it extended to his bank’s top managers.
Our first volunteer day with Bankers Build, he said, found
“members of our senior management team – executive vice
NJBankers President/CEO John E. McWeeney, Jr. presented a $25,000
ceremonial check to Coastal Habitat, representing donations from
participating members who provide $100 for each bank volunteer.
From l - r: Coastal Habitat for Humanity President Charlie Mannino;
James Vaccaro, president/CEO, Manasquan Savings Bank; McWeeney;
NJBankers EVP/Director of Government Relations Michael Affuso; and
Maureen Mulligan, executive director, Coastal Habitat.
presidents, senior vice presidents, vice presidents, and me, taking part. ... It was a great feeling. When we finished for the day
we were even told the bank group coming in the next day would
have less to do because we had [already] done so much.
“Northfield encourages its people to become involved in the
community. Sandy relief is one of the many important efforts that
we support in our communities. Our dedicated and hard-working
employees make the time, in their already demanding schedules, to volunteer in their communities, whether helping children
at the YMCA or volunteering their time to honor and support 9/11
victims and their families. In addition, the Northfield Bank Foundation helps the community in other ways, such as supporting
organizations that provide food, housing and education to those
less fortunate.”
A More Personal Commitment
Twenty-seven NJBankers member banks participated in “Bankers Build”
with several participants celebrating the completion of the build. From left
to right: Michael Affuso, EVP/director of government relations, NJBankers;
Steven Klein, president/COO Northfield Bank; Raul Oseguera, COO,
Mariner’s Bank; John Fitzgerald, president/CEO, Magyar Bank; John
McWeeney, Jr., president/CEO, NJBankers; Maureen Mulligan, executive
director, Coastal Habitat for Humanity; Donald Mindiak, CEO, BCB
Community Bank; Christopher Martin, chairman/president/CEO, The
Provident Bank; Timothy Losch, regional president/central division, Fulton
Bank of New Jersey; and Robert Hart, SVP/residential lending, Manasquan
Savings Bank.
6 November 2013
All of the 27 banks that took part in Bankers Build were strongly
committed to helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Some had
branches affected by the storm, and perhaps employees who
were also directly affected. But one bank that truly represents
the resolve of all New Jersey banks in the efforts to rebuild from
the storm is OceanFirst.
Headquartered in Toms River, near the epicenter of the storm,
the bank’s branches are located along the shoreline that took
the brunt of Sandy. According to John R. Garbarino, OceanFirst
Bank chairman and CEO, Not only was “our entire market area
affected by Sandy, sixteen of our [400-plus] employees were rendered homeless by the storm.”
One of the bank’s responses to Sandy was its three-day participation with employee volunteers in Bankers Build. OceanFirst
Foundation also made a grant of $3,000 to Coastal Habitat for
Program to local short- and long-term
recovery efforts.
New Jersey banks and their employees are very active in civic service of all
kinds. From education enhancement projects to veteran support programs to food
bank maintenance, they provide significant amounts of money and volunteers
that contribute to the state’s well being.
Bankers Build is one recent example of
this “more than just a business” approach
to community service. NJB
Employees from New Jersey Community
Bank gather for a group photo during their
August build.
Northfield Bank employees were happy to swap
their collared shirts and loafers for t-shirts and
steel-toed boots for Bankers Build.
OceanFirst employees worked tirelessly to put
a fresh coat of paint on molding during their
Bankers Build.
Humanity in support of this initiative. But
the bank’s commitment to Sandy relief
went well beyond Bankers Build.
OceanFirst
Foundation
pledged
$500,000 to a storm-related Relief and
Recovery Grant Program. The first
three grants from the Program, each for
$50,000, were quickly awarded to help
meet the emergency basic needs of local families. These grants were made to:
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton
(Emergency Services); St. Francis Center, Brant Beach; and The Foodbank of
Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Neptune. Less than one year after the storm,
OceanFirst Foundation is proud to have
committed all $500,000 allocated to the
New Jersey Business 7