Pendleton Community Bank branch manager Randee Bronson, third from left, provided a donation from the Holiday Charity Drive to Altrusa International of Pendleton’s Feed The Child program representatives Sean Degan, Theresa Degan and Karin Power.

UMATILLA COUNTY — The Milton-Freewater City Light and Power Energy Assistance Program through The Salvation Army received a hefty boost from the annual Community Bank Holiday Charity Drive.

The yearly holiday season program collects donations in communities where the bank provides services to benefit charities in that same area. Donations were accepted during the month of November through Dec. 20, 2019. Community Bank matches donations at 50 cents on each dollar, with a maximum match of $500 per branch location.

The Milton-Freewater branch raised/matched for a total of $5,824. The city of Milton-Freewater also matched the total collected dollar-for-dollar, which provided a total of more than $11,000 for the energy assistance program.

Other local community programs benefiting from the charity drive included Altrusa International of Pendleton‘s Feed The Child program ($450), which provides needy students with bags of food for the weekend; and Hermiston-based Made to Thrive ($1,716) to support programs that engage vulnerable youths in the community.

The 2019 holiday season’s grand total was $23,357 in donations and bank matches, which was disbursed to charities in Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington in communities where the bank serves. Over the past 10 years, the effort has provided more than $217,000 to charities throughout the region. Community Bank expressed appreciation to all the people, businesses and clubs who donated to the fundraising efforts.

“The spirit of giving is alive and well in our communities, it’s always amazing to see the generosity,” said Tom Moran, Community Bank CEO/president.

Community Bank was founded in 1955 by a group of Joseph business leaders as the Bank of Wallowa County. Since then, it has grown across the region, including branches in Pendleton, Hermiston, Heppner and Milton-Freewater.

For more information, contact Moran at 509-525-9860 or tmoran@communitybanknet.com.