MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — AgChoice Farm Credit expanded its charitable activities throughout 2018 to support the cooperative’s shared purpose statement, adopted in 2015: Inspiring Growth in Our Families, Businesses and Rural Communities.
As part of its annual customer appreciation events, AgChoice donated a total of $2,250 to nine organizations across Pennsylvania with ties to agriculture:
- Bradford County 4-H
- Blair County Dairy Promotion
- Keystone SMILES Community Learning Center
- Mifflin County Dairy Promotion
- Clarion-Venango-Forest & Butler County Farm Bureaus
- Franklin County 4-H
- 4-H Clubs of York County
- Midd-West FFA
- Westmoreland County Food Bank
“As an agricultural cooperative, we believe that community involvement is mission critical,” said Darrell Curtis, AgChoice president and CEO. “These local organizations work hard to ensure a bright future for Pennsylvania and for agriculture, and we couldn’t be prouder to support their good work with these donations.”
Employees and directors presented the donations during each branch’s annual customer appreciation event. More than 3,300 customer-owners, community members and their families enjoyed complimentary meals, door prizes and various activities such as movies, wine tastings, kiddie tractor pulls and bounce houses at the events, which were held throughout the summer and early fall.
AgChoice branch teams also contributed to local charitable causes. This holiday season, the Cumberland Valley branch purchased Christmas gifts for a single mother and her three young daughters staying at the Women in Need shelter in Chambersburg. AgChoice’s headquarters office in Mechanicsburg purchased gifts for 25 children identified through Cumberland County Children and Youth Services.
On an individual level, each AgChoice employee donated $50 from their annual staff Christmas gift to deserving charities. They distributed $8,350 between the following organizations:
- $3,450 to Heifer International (heifer.org)
- $2,550 to local food banks across Pennsylvania
- $2,350 to the American Red Cross (redcross.org)
In addition to encouraging charitable donations, AgChoice grants employees 16 paid hours per year to perform community service work of their choosing. Employees utilize this benefit in a variety of ways, including running races for charity, tutoring at local schools and serving local 4-H and FFA chapters. In response to Hurricane Florence’s devastation to farms and rural communities in the Carolinas, AgChoice’s senior leadership approved additional paid days to support recovery efforts.
AgChoice joined approximately 200 Farm Credit employees from six states volunteering more than 1,700 hours to disaster recovery efforts. Five AgChoice employees travelled to Whiteville, N.C., to help flooding victims with the Farm Credit Cares initiative. Their work included removing personal belongings, flooring, interior walls and insulation and ductwork from crawl spaces.
“Our time in Whiteville involved exhausting and dirty work, but everyone approached it with a strong sense of service and without complaining,” said Curtis, who was among the volunteer team. “I cannot express how thankful and proud I am of our team of volunteers.”
AgChoice Farm Credit is a member-owned Agricultural Credit Association with nearly $2 billion in gross loan assets. Through 10 branch offices, it provides loans and financial services to more than 10,000 customers in 52 counties in central, western and northern Pennsylvania as well as four counties in West Virginia. To learn more about AgChoice Farm Credit and its financial programs, visit www.agchoice.com.
— AgChoice Farm Credit