IONIA — Independent Bank is celebrating its 150th anniversary by introducing a volunteer service project entitled “150 Ways in 150 Days,” completing 150 service projects throughout the bank’s communities. Each of the 75 branches and loan offices will engage in two service projects, including multiple projects in the metro Detroit area.
These service days will include a variety of volunteer opportunities, including hosting food drives, serving local charities, and teaching financial literacy classes for children and adults. The bank expects to exceed its volunteer commitments from past years. In 2013, these commitments included volunteering more than 13,900 total hours; supporting more than 625 organizations through a combination of sponsorships, donations and service; and teaching financial literacy classes for more than 22,000 people.
In celebration of its sesquicentennial, the bank also recently launched a new website. The new site features a variety of updates to improve the user experience including enhanced navigation tools, streamlined user interface and the ability to customize the homepage background by choosing images from a photo gallery.
Independent Bank was chartered in 1864 as First National Bank of Ionia and had initial assets of $50,000, compared to $2.3 billion today. It was one of the first charters of the National Bank Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. The bank is still headquartered in downtown Ionia, the same place where it was founded.
Information about each upcoming community-based service project will be posted on an event calendar on the Independent Bank website.
