BHN Receives $125K Donation Commitment from PeoplesBank for Katherine B. Wilson Staff Excellence Fund
Springfield— Behavioral Health Network, Inc. (BHN) has announced it has received a $25,000 donation from PeoplesBank to benefit the Katherine B. Wilson Staff Excellence Fund. It is the first installment of a $125,000 commitment over the next five years.
[Photo attached, L-R: Matthew Bannister, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at PeoplesBank; Kerry Pepin, VP, Portfolio Manager, PeoplesBank; Steve Winn, BHN President and CEO; and Vicky Crouse, SVP, Commercial Lending, PeoplesBank.]
BHN established the Katherine B. Wilson Staff Excellence Fund to support the career and professional development of the organization’s workforce and assist in achieving Social Justice objectives. Through community partnerships, valuable in-kind services, and generous donations, BHN seeks to address a variety of staff professional development opportunities. The fund will provide support for scholarship funds and forgivable loans for staff to further their education at local colleges, along with licensure support.
“BHN made a compelling case that the engagement/skillset of their workforce has an enormous impact on their ‘end users’ – something we know to be true, even in a seemingly different industry such as banking. It is the ‘hand-up, and not hand-out’ to these vulnerable populations that hews most closely to our giving philosophy, so we are comfortable that this program will produce those desired results,” said Matthew Bannister, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at PeoplesBank.
Steve Winn, President and CEO of BHN stated, “We are deeply grateful to PeoplesBank for their generosity and partnership. Through this commitment, PeoplesBank demonstrates understanding of the importance of ensuring high quality behavioral health services to the Western Massachusetts community. Supporting BHN’s essential workforce accomplishes that goal.”
About BHN: BHN has been providing behavioral health services to children and families in Western Massachusetts since 1938. The agency provides community-based services that include innovative, integrated whole-health models as well as traditional clinical and outpatient and therapeutic services, day treatment, addiction services, crisis intervention and residential supports.