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Amarillo National Bank announced Friday its donation of $1 million to more than 80 nonprofit organizations in the cities the bank serves.
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In Amarillo, nonprofit organizations which received funding from the bank include Family Support Services, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, Heal the City and the Wesley Community Center.
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We want to bring awareness to the fact that nonprofits are hurting as well during this crisis.
Officials with Amarillo National Bank announced Friday its donation of $1 million to more than 80 nonprofit organizations in the cities the bank serves, including Amarillo, Canyon, Bryan/College Station and Borger, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
William Ware, the president of Amarillo National Bank, said the bank took the opportunity to help these organizations who are struggling, despite increasing demand, during the COVID-19 situation.
“We knew that all not-for-profits are being hit from both sides of this crisis,” he said. “They are seeing increased demand due to the needs while seeing less revenue due to less fundraising and lower economic conditions. So, they are in a bind and we felt like it was time to step up.”
The bank listened to community members, employees as well as some of their customers to determine which organizations got funding, Ware said.
In Amarillo, nonprofit organizations which received funding from the bank include Family Support Services, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, Heal the City and the Wesley Community Center. The bank also donated 10,000 N99 masks to area hospitals to help during the pandemic.
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Rather than just addressing a handful (of organizations), we decided to give to a multitude because we knew that 10 were hurting, then 50 of them are hurting. We decided to really increase our giving and decide to support all the not-for-profits that are really outreach organizations for our local communities ... We wanted to help the most people we could, so the charities we did give to, we made a point that they had a broad base and they were supporting families and health,
William Ware, the president of Amarillo National Bank.
Junie Wagner, the executive director of the Guyon Saunders Resource Center, said her organization received $10,000 in funds from the bank.
The funds are going to help the center continue its frequent deep cleaning of the establishment for several months while serving, on average, 100 members of the area homeless community per day, Wagner said.
Ware said there are two main goals for the funds the bank gave to the organizations.
First and foremost, we hope it gets them through this crisis. This is unprecedented, and no one asked for this. This just was kind of thrust upon us. Number two, we hope it inspires others to give in any way possible, whether they can volunteer with their resources or their time. We want to bring awareness to the fact that nonprofits are hurting as well during this crisis ... The nonprofits are doing so much good to others. We wanted to bring that to light. It really warms our hearts knowing that they are helping others during this time,
Junie Wagner, the executive director of the Guyon Saunders Resource Center.
Ware’s hope is that this donation helps provide inspiration and awareness to members of the community for the importance of continuing to serve in any way they can during this pandemic.
Wagner said the people who work at the center, as well as the community the center serves, are all grateful for the money given to the center by Amarillo National Bank.
“Amarillo National Bank is a staple in the Amarillo community. They are an icon here in their own right,” she said. “They have been around, helping the community, for many, many, many years, and so with that being said, their involvement, it’s not surprising. We are just so thankful for it and they recognized the need here at the Guyon Saunders Resource Center.”
Read More: ADT Provides $1 Million to Support over 100 COVID-19 Affected Nonprofits in America
About Amarillo National Bank
Founded in 1892 and now the largest family-owned bank in the nation, Amarillo National Bank has never been typical — and we’re proud of it. The maverick soul of Amarillo is still very much a part of our daily work and lives. At ANB, we’re fiercely independent, answering only to our customers. We have no outside stockholders or board of directors, no giant corporate headquarters full of concrete and shadows. It’s all here under the wide open skies of Amarillo.