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In the afternoon of United Way’s Day of Caring, volunteers from Anchor Bank painted the alleyway near Bratdorf & Bronson.

If you went downtown for Arts Walk this fall, you may not have noticed the entire blocks in the heart of Olympia that were cleaner than normal – sidewalks swept, trash removed, landscapes tidied. But if you did notice, thank Anchor Bank. Their volunteer crew spent the morning cleaning up in preparation for the annual event as part of Thurston County United Way’s Day of Caring. Their contribution has both short-term and long-term impact, says Krosbie Carter, Development Coordinator at United Way.

“It’s really nice to be able to drive downtown and see something that people took ownership of, even something as small as sweeping a sidewalk,” she says.  “If someone comes downtown with their kids for Arts Walk, they’ll feel safer because that sidewalk is clean and it feels safer and it feels like a community space. That means families are more now apt to come downtown.”

The Day of Caring is a national event, with the local branch focused specifically on Thurston County. “It’s the largest day of volunteerism in the county,” says Carter. “Last year there were about 650 volunteers in the streets.” Through a workplace campaign, United Way pairs local businesses with non-profit volunteer opportunities. “The non-profits can get jobs done that they don’t normally have the resources to accomplish, which is really great,” she says.

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Anchor Bank and United Way believe that efforts to beautify downtown will ultimately make it more appealing to visitors and families.

Anchor Bank has participated for years, says AVP Branch Sales Manager, Melissa Stone. Just in the past four years, they completed a large painting project, revitalizing interior and exterior wall space at the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, built a retaining wall at Bread & Roses, and stuffed weekend bags down at the Thurston County Food Bank for their backpack meal program. This year, they worked with the Olympia Downtown Association to beautify downtown in anticipation of the huge crowds that Arts Walk habitually draws. In the afternoon they painted an alleyway near Bratdorf & Bronson where the city will be installing LED lighting. This year Anchor Bank also sponsored the event.

Stone grew up in Olympia, and is familiar with both arts walk and the sometimes unsavory reputation of some neighborhoods. “I know the crowds that it draws of families and young artists,” she says. “I also know that downtown Olympia can come with a stigma of being an unsafe place, especially after the sun goes down. There has historically been drug use and crime in the alleys. The alleyway project is about giving the community a sense of security. We really freshened up the walls with bright blue and green paint. With the paint and the LED lighting, people can feel safe about being downtown at night.”

Studies of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) have demonstrated that projects as simple as painting the alleyway can act as a deterrent. “When one side of an alley has a mural and one does not, people aren’t writing graffiti on the walls that are painted,” says Stone. “They take ownership of the alley and think, ‘I’m not going to mess with that.’”

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The Anchor Bank team cleaned up blocks in downtown Olympia in preparation for Fall Arts Walk.

While financial donations to United Way are extremely important, Carter appreciates the Day of Caring as an opportunity to connect volunteers and donors, particularly businesses, with a tangible result of their efforts. “It’s really nice for us be able to say, ‘Here’s something where you can actually see what you’ve done, what giving your time has done, the impact that it makes,’” she says. “That’s what’s great about the Day of Caring. It’s not just a monetary gift. It’s really an outcome.”

Anchor Bank has a long connection with United Way, says Carter. “When we do our workplace campaign, their company has historically matched every single gift that an employee makes, dollar for dollar. It shows that they are really committed to making the biggest impact they can as a company. This year they tripled their campaign of giving and had a huge support for Day of Caring. It makes us very proud when we have businesses like Anchor Bank that get involved. They gave their time and they gave their money to invest in the community.”

Such investment is a natural result of two factors, says Stone. First, Anchor Bank was originally established in Grays Harbor County as Aberdeen Federal Savings and Loan in 1907. “It was a local bank in a very small coastal community,” she says.  “We’ve grown to eleven branches but we’ll never get away from that community-based banking feel.” Second, the bank’s leadership actively encourages their employees to be get involved. “I’ve been with Anchor Bank for ten and a half years and there’s been a constant support for that, “she explains. “They get excited with me.”

On a personal level, says Stone, “I like volunteering and giving my time and my money to United Way because many times people want to volunteer and want to donate, but they don’t know how and where. United Way is connected with so many of these non-profits so they’re a perfect resource to match the desire with the need.”

That’s exactly what Carter has in mind. “We’re trying to connect the pieces of the puzzle in our community,” she says.  “We want to keep making it easy for people to find what they need and make it easy for non-profits to give people what they need. That’s where Anchor Bank and all of the people who are giving back come in. It really makes it a united community.”

For more information about Anchor Bank, visit www.anchornetbank.com or call 800.562.9744.

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