CNB Supports Literacy Volunteers of Bangor
6/12/2008
BANGOR, Maine, June 12, 2008 - When Camden National Bank learned that 37% of Maine's population struggles with basic reading material, the bank looked for an effective way to increase and improve adult literacy efforts and committed support for a new project with Literacy Volunteers of Bangor.
Camden National Bank's funding is in support of the Literacy Volunteers of Bangor's current civic engagement project to help educate low literate adults about civic rights and opportunities as U.S. citizens. The project has a robust, six-month training plan that includes customized civic teaching materials covering U.S. democracy, civic responsibility, and the voting process and guidance on the citizenship process.
In 2007, Literacy Volunteers of Bangor served more than 110 adults with low literacy through the outreach efforts of 250 trained volunteers who donated nearly 15,000 hours of their time and talents to the greater Bangor community. The cost of improving one adult's literacy for a year is approximately $430.
Literacy Volunteers of Bangor Executive Director Mary Marin Lyon explained the impact of literacy, "While 43% of adults with very low literacy skills live in poverty, we know that improving an adult's literacy positively improves the social, educational, and economic conditions for everyone within their household. With Camden National Bank's help, we can help overcome barriers to educational access and improve the quality of life of Maine citizens."
"As part of its ongoing commitment to vitalizing communities through support of literacy programs, Camden National Bank is pleased to work with Literacy Volunteers of Bangor to enable adults and older youths to solve access problems they encounter in their daily lives, to be prepared to compete in the global marketplace, and to contribute to their community," said Camden National Bank Senior Vice President and Senior Market Manager Arthur Comstock. "Literacy Volunteers of Bangor is helping to make a tremendous difference in the lives of people here in our community, and we are proud to support their efforts."
Camden National Bank, a subsidiary of Camden National Corporation which employs 440 Maine residents and is ranked in the top 20 in USBanker's 2008 list of top-performing mid-tier banks, is a full-service community bank headquartered in Camden, Maine. Camden National Bank, along with Union Trust, a division of Camden National Bank, has a network of 37 banking offices located in coastal, western, central and eastern Maine, plus online banking at CamdenNational.com and UnionTrust.com. The Bank also has ATM-only locations in Carrabassett Valley and Jefferson.
