Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta, two divisions of Synovus Bank, will host the 5th Annual ‘Spread the Love’ Peanut Butter and Jelly Food Drive to benefit 36 local food pantries that are located in the communities they serve.
Dates: Monday, April 2 – Monday, April 30, 2012 during normal banking hours. April 2 just happens to be ‘National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day’!
Drop off Locations: All 40 Bank of North Georgia and 6 Bank of Coweta branches in Alpharetta (2), Atlanta (2), Bremen, Bowdon, Buford, Canton, Carrollton (3), Conyers (2), Covington (2), Cumming, Douglasville (2), Dunwoody, Fayetteville, Hiram, Jasper, Johns Creek, Kennesaw, Marietta (2), McDonough, Newnan (5), Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Senoia, Stockbridge, Suwanee, Tallapoosa, Temple, Tucker, Tyrone, Villa Rica and Woodstock. For more information about these locations and branch hours, visit www.bankofnorthgeorgia.com or www.bankofcoweta.com.
Local Food Bank Partners: Food Banks/Pantries were selected based on their proximity to the local Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta branches. Partners include Atlanta Union Mission, Bowdon Area United Christian Ministries, Breaking Down Walls Ministry (Lilburn), Care Pointe Food Pantry (Duluth), Carroll County Boys and Girls Club (Carrollton), Carroll County Emergency Shelter Center for Domestic Violence (Carrollton), Carroll County Soup Kitchen (Carrollton), Community Action Center (Atlanta), Community Assistance Resources & Emergency Services (Jasper), Community Food Pantry (Covington), Coweta Community Food Pantry (Newnan), Gwinnett Children’s Shelter (Buford), Haralson County Health Department (Buchanan), Haralson County Ministries (Bremen), Hearts to Nourish Hope, Inc. (Riverdale), Helping Hands of Paulding, Inc. (Dallas), Helping in His Name Ministries (Stockbridge), Hightower Baptist Church Food Bank (Cumming), Lifeline Mission (Villa Rica), MUST Ministries (Marietta and Canton), NETworks (Tucker), North Fulton Community Charities (Roswell), Norcross Cooperative Ministry, North Gwinnett Cooperative (Buford), One Roof (Newnan), Rockdale Emergency Relief (Conyers), Salvation Army (Canton and Covington), Sonlight Vision Ministries, Inc. (Jasper), Sow Good Center (Senoia), Temple Area Christian United Ministries, The Center for Family Resources (Marietta), The Pantry (Douglasville), The Real Life Crisis Center (Tyrone), and Whitesburg Care Fund and Food Bank.
Purpose: Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta are very much at the heart of community life in metro Atlanta, supporting those organizations and programs that make our local communities desirable places to live and work. Recognizing that there is an urgent need for food that offers good nutrition to children, these two divisions of Synovus are once again focusing on a staple lunchtime classic – peanut butter and jelly.
Since 2008, Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta have collected more than 10 tons of peanut butter and jelly through this meaningful community relations effort. In 2011, they partnered with 17 local schools and collected 5,899 jars at 7,997 pounds, which is 4 tons of PB&J. That is enough to make more than 63,978 sandwiches for children in metro Atlanta (with approximately two ounces of PB&J spread on each sandwich). Creamy peanut butter was the clear winner over crunchy and the bank received more grape jelly than any other flavor.
“Our team members are passionate about making a difference in the local communities we serve. The challenging economy has caused more and more families to reach out to local food banks for assistance and we felt compelled to take action. Our team has a genuine soft-spot for kids and we want to be sure they have the nutritious food they need to get through the day energized and excited to learn,” said Don Howard, Regional CEO of Synovus in the Atlanta Market.
“Last year, our 17 school partners collected approximately 42% of our overall collection of PB&J. We are excited that 23 schools have agreed to partner with our local branches to host a food drive at their school in April, 2012. The Kiwanis Club in Covington, Georgia, is also joining the effort. The impact will be tremendous,” Howard said.
2012 PB&J Partner Schools: Bowdon Elementary School, Carrollton Middle School (Carrollton), Central Elementary School (Carrollton), Central Middle School (Carrollton), Chrysalis Experiential Academy (Roswell), Coweta Charter Academy (Senoia), Crabapple Elementary School (Peachtree City), Eastside Elementary School (Senoia), Evans Middle School (Newnan), Flat Rock Middle School (Tyrone), Lillian C. Poole Elementary School (Dallas), Livsey Elementary School (Tucker), Marietta Middle School, McGarity Elementary School (Hiram), Mt. Bethel Elementary School (Marietta), North Springs Charter High School (Sandy Springs), Porterdale Elementary School (Covington), Sandy Creek High School (Tyrone), Sharp Creek Elementary School (Carrollton), Teasley Elementary School (Smyrna), The Atlanta Academy (Roswell), Tyrone Elementary School, and Woodstock Middle School.
Local residents, customers and friends of Bank of North Georgia and Bank of Coweta are encouraged to visit any of the 46 branches and drop off as much peanut butter and jelly as they can carry and to watch for details being shared through the local schools. “We would love to see both creamy and crunchy varieties of peanut butter and every imaginable flavor of jelly to appeal to every child in metro Atlanta,” Howard concluded.
For more information visit www.bankofnorthgeorgia.com and www.bankofcoweta.com.
