Maine's Capital Area

Bar Harbor, Maine – Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s employee giving program, Casual for a Cause, recently surpassed the $100,000 mark of total donations made to nonprofit organizations since the program launched in 2018. More than 53 organizations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have received donations through the program.

Casual for a Cause gives Bank employees the opportunity to dress casually on Fridays in exchange for a bi-weekly payroll deduction made to a pool of funds collected during each quarter. The employees then vote on the nonprofits to receive their contributions. The program is entirely voluntary, and each employee sets his/her own level of giving. Approximately 2/3 of the Bank’s employees participate in Casual for a Cause.

“Casual for a Cause gives our employees an easy way to give back to the communities where we live and work,” said Jack Frost, VP Director of Community Giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “Even if employees are only able to contribute a few dollars, those donations add up and can make a significant difference to nonprofit organizations and the people they serve. Reaching this milestone is proof of the power of collective giving.”

The nonprofit organizations selected to receive a donation through Casual for a Cause generally offer a program or service that is tied to the Bank’s giving focus on education and workforce development. In 2020, employees targeted their donations to help nonprofit organizations that were delivering emergency services to people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizations that have received a donation through Casual for a Cause since the program launched include:

Maine – AIO Food Pantry, Bar Harbor Food Pantry, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bath/Brunswick, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Coast, China Community Food Bank, Community Christmas Project, Downeast Community Partners, Eastern Area Agency on Aging, Emmaus Healthy Acadia, Homeless Shelter, Hancock County Tech Center, Island Food Pantry, Junior Achievement, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Lubec Community Outreach Center, Machias Food Pantry, Maine Mental Health Connections, Maine Seacoast Mission Family Food Center, Mid-Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Newport Community Food Bank, Next Step Domestic Violence Project, OHI Inc, Tree of Life Food Pantry, Waterville Area Food Bank, and Westside Food Pantry.

New Hampshire – American Red Cross, Claremont Soup Kitchen, Friends Program, Girls Incorporated, Granite United Way, KLS Community Food Pantry, LISTEN Community Services, Newport Area Association Food Pantry, Second Growth, Turning Points Network, Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity, Upper Valley Haven, Waypoint, and Wellspring Food Pantry

Vermont – BROC Community Action, Brandon Area Emergency Food Shelf, Capstone Community Action, Clara Martin Center, Everybody Wins! VT, Gifford Medical Center, Girls on the Run Vermont, Jump$tart VT, Randolph Area Food Shelf, Rutland Regional Medical Center, Safeline Incorporated, and Vermont Institute for Natural Science.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating over 50 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3.6 billion in assets. As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiaries Bar Harbor Trust Services and Charter Trust Company. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit www.barharbor.bank or call 888-853-7100. Member FDIC.

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