Mountain West Bank grant funds snack bag program
NEWPORT — Mountain West Bank (Newport) awarded Newport Hospital and Health Services Foundation with a check for $4,000. The funds are awarded in support of the NHHS Foundation Healthy Kids Snack Bag program, which addresses food disparities in local children living in Pend Oreille County (Washington) and West Bonner County (Idaho). The funds will directly provide over 600 snack bags in 2019.
Nichole Phillips, Newport branch manager, and colleague Amy Morningstar, personal banker, hand-delivered the check to the foundation on Jan. 29.
“Mountain West Bank prides itself on support for local charitable causes, and we are thrilled to support Healthy Kids Snack Bags,” said Phillips. The funds follow a grant application through Mountain West Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) process. The Community Reinvestment Act, enacted in 1977, requires the Federal Reserve and other federal banking regulators to encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they do business, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
The Healthy Kids Snack Bag Program’s goal is to combat basic food disparities and childhood obesity, as well as increase educational performance among local elementary school children (K-6th grade). The program provides them with a week’s worth of nutritious snacks (three snacks per day, seven days per week) and weekly nutrition education materials or healthy snack recipes. The children receive a backpack filled with snacks every Thursday; as long as they return the empty bag to school the following week, the bag is refilled again. The Foundation also provides nutritious snacks to Pend Oreille Skills Center, Pend Oreille River School, and Pend Oreille Valley Adventist School.
The mission of Newport Hospital and Health Services Foundation is to cultivate relationships and partnerships to generate financial and other resources to assist NHHS to serve the community, promote health and improve lives. In support of the district’s mission, the foundation raises money for needed healthcare equipment, supplies, healthcare delivery, overall community health and education.
Directed by the hospital, in cooperation with community leaders who give generously of their time and personal resources, the NHHS Foundation gains financial support for the mission of Public Hospital District #1. The foundation exists to improve and enhance the district’s delivery of high-quality healthcare through successful cultivation of philanthropic support and volunteer leadership, as well as the stewardship of charitable gifts and fundraising events.
Mountain West Bank is a division of Montana-based Glacier Bank, owned by Glacier Bancorp Inc,. that operates 152 offices in 103 communities in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Arizona.