Pilot Bank is a community bank, and they are committed to giving back to the Tampa Bay area. During this time of year, many of us have a renewed understanding of the importance of giving. One of the wonderful things about the nine-year-strong partnership between Pilot Bank and Metropolitan Ministries is its focus on the importance of giving throughout the entire year. Dee Reboredo, human resources director for Pilot Bank, shared her desire to see the bank’s volunteer efforts with the Ministries continue growing: “Their culture aligns with ours, and all of our associates who volunteer with them ask to go back.”
One of Pilot Bank’s core values is giving back to the community, which includes helping the less fortunate. With Metropolitan Ministries, Pilot Bank associates, along with their family and friends, do just that: “Helping people who have fallen on hard times is part of our mission,” shared Reboredo. “Whether we are involved in helping them feed their family or in providing toys, it’s wonderful to work with Metropolitan Ministries’ clients and hear about their success stories.” Reboredo is humbled by the excitement Pilot Bank associates show for the Ministries, and she believes that opening the volunteer opportunities up to children as young as eight lays an important foundation. “We’ve actually had to turn associates away because the number of people interested in volunteering exceeded the number allowed by the Ministries,” she recalled. Having so many team members demonstrate a want to help others speaks to the culture at Pilot Bank and the good work being done by Metropolitan Ministries.
Reboredo believes both Pilot Bank and Metropolitan Ministries are advocates for their respective clients, and both organizations take seriously the responsibility of positively impacting the bay area. While Pilot Bank associates enjoy the opportunity to work with the Ministries year round, there are special events around the holiday season. Recently, Pilot Bank team members volunteered at the Ministries’ holiday tent. The Saturday before Thanksgiving, they were able to interact with Ministries’ clients by doing things like taking groceries to their cars. Reboredo especially enjoyed the connections she made with Ministries’ clients because there was time for conversation as they walked with wagons of food to load into clients’ cars. Currently, the bank is focused on a toy drive for the Ministries. Metropolitan Ministries needs thousands of toys this time of year, but they only had about 300. The Pilot Bank team was moved to put toy-collection-bins at all of their branches and Reboredo is happy to report that they are full: “Beyond our associates, even some of our clients have donated. We’ll deliver the toys on December 13th so that Metropolitan Ministries can start distributing them.”
The work being done by both Pilot Bank and Metropolitan Ministries to lift up Bay area residents facing difficult times epitomizes the spirit of helping our city. Pilot Bank associates engage with the Ministries strictly because they want to. “It’s such a positive experience,” Reboredo expressed; “From the time we enter the parking lot to the time we leave, there is so much enthusiasm and organization from the Ministries—our associates love it.” Follow Pilot Bank’s lead this holiday season and learn how you can get involved with Metropolitan Ministries. It’s a season for building the sort of community that lasts the whole year through.
