STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
D.L. Evans Bank has contributed $45,000 to ARCH Community Housing Trust.
The donation is part of $600,000 in grants that the bank, which has three branches in the Wood River Valley, is making to non-profit organizations across southern Idaho.
The local community bank, which is headquartered in Burley, is maximizing the dollars donated by applying for the Federal Home Loan Bank new matching grant program. The program matches up to $3 to every $1 of the D.L. Evans Bank donation.
The grant program is aligned with the bank’s mission to strengthen communities. To that end the grants focus on such essential community services as affordable housing, economic development and providing services to low-income individuals.
“As community bankers in Idaho and Utah, we are always looking for ways to give back to our communities,” said John V. Evans III, chief executive officer of D.L. Evans Bank. “We believe contributing to non-profit organizations that provide needed services to the members of our communities is a great way to give back to our communities.”
Evans added that he and his colleagues are thrilled about the opportunity to maximize donations in partnership with Federal Home Loan Bank.
“These types of initiatives are what makes community banking so special and what sets community banks apart,” he said. “As our founder once said, community banking is just about one thing: helping people and communities grow and prosper.”
ARCH, or Advocates for Real Community House, broke ground on affordable housing property for Blaine County School District staff Wednesday afternoon on West Bullion Street in Hailey. The community housing trust has purchased, restored and built properties to provide housing for local teachers, police officers, hospital technicians, firefighters, nurses and others since 2005.
It also spearheaded the Blaine Manor housing projects for senior citizens and families near the Hailey Skate Park and Campion Ice House.
The donation from D.L. Evans Bank will be used to help hire an operations manager who will check on job sites and existing units and perform such duties as making sure ARCH has the right amount of insurance for its projects, said Michelle Griffith, ARCH director.
“We wasted no time in posting the position,” she added.
Other recipients of D.L. Evans Bank grants include NeighborWorks programs in Boise, Mountain Home and Pocatello, the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation in Eastern Idaho, Habitat for Humanity and Voices Against Violence in the Magic Valley, St. Luke’s Respite House in Western Idaho and the Box Elder Community Campus Boys and Girls Club in northern Utah.
Also: St. Alphonsus Foundation, Young Caring for Our Young, Logan Rotary Club, Community One Foundation, Destination Caldwell, Business Plus-South Central Idaho, Cassia County School District Avenues for Hope and Idaho Business for Education.
D.L. Evans Bank, established in 1904 in southeastern Idaho. It has 38 branches in Idaho and Utah with more than $3 billion in assets.