First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation have provided $17,500 in grants to two organizations in Johnson County.
Grants were awarded to the Johnson County Community Foundation and United Way of Johnson County with the purpose of creating positive change in the areas of workforce development and education, as well as in neighborhood development. Emphasis was made on programs helping low-income communities.
“Our work to help communities thrive and grow often takes the form of collaboration with strong local organizations and projects such as these, and I’m confident that our work together will deliver a powerful lift to the neighborhoods, towns and cities we serve,” said Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial Bank.
For the United Way of Johnson County, the $10,000 grant will go to addressing homelessness in the county.
“This grant will truly make a difference for those individuals who are at risk of being homeless or homeless in our Johnson County community,” said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director, United Way of Johnson County. “The majority of the clients we serve are families with children. With the inflation rate, so many of our families are struggling with the basic needs such as housing.”
The Johnson County Community Foundation received $7,500 to support its Johnson County Employer Resource Network. The program deploys a “success coach” in eight participating member companies. The success coach is a confidential resource that employees can access on a predictable, ongoing basis and serves as a direct conduit to community resources that provide relief for many issues including childcare, housing and/or family challenges, workplace conflict, career coaching, financial literacy and mental health referrals.
The First Financial Foundation was created in 2017 to support programs and organizations that enhance and develop the communities in which First Financial Bank does business. Throughout Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, the foundation’s 2023 Annual Grant Campaign provided funding to 66 organizations. The total of $510,000 being awarded, this is the First Financial Foundation’s largest grant campaign to date.
