The Video Teller Department collected these items to donate to a teacher at Hayes Bilingual School in Milwaukee.
North Shore Bank employees helped the school year start off right for teachers and students through the “Build a Teacher Box of Appreciation” Bank on Kindness® initiative. We asked branches and corporate departments to donate school supplies last month and assemble boxes of new supplies to give to teachers or schools of their choice. Your efforts enabled us to delight so many with this random act of kindness. And wow! Did you deliver!
You’ll see many happy faces in the photos shared here! Thanks to all who donated to give our kids and teachers a wonderful kick-off to the year.
Rebeca Soto at Hayes Bilingual School in Milwaukee
Video Teller Department
The Video Teller Department selected Milwaukee Public Schools teacher Rebeca Soto to receive their donation of new school supplies. This is Rebeca’s fourth year teaching third-graders at Hayes Bilingual School. The department selected MPS to show their support for public school teachers at a time of financial strain and budget cuts. — Bilingual Video Teller Erika Garcia
Kindergarten teacher Justice Hilgart received an appreciation box from the Ashwaubenon branch.
Ashwaubenon Branch
The Ashwaubenon branch brought a Teacher Box of Appreciation to Justice Hilgart, who teaches 4-year-old kindergarten at Beaumont Elementary School in the Green Bay/Ashwaubenon area. We chose this school because my daughter, Khalani, starts 4K there this year. — Ashwaubenon Assistant Branch Manager Stevie Nemetz
Lindsay Feiker’s fourth-grade class is enjoying all the school supplies and the Be Kind clings provided by North Shore Bank.
Teacher Claudia Heller De Messer (left) receives her appreciation boxes from Chief HR Officer Molly Schissler.
Corporate Office, 2nd Floor
The 2nd floor of the Corporate Office selected two teachers to receive Teacher Boxes of Appreciation containing school supplies and a $50 gift card to purchase more as needed. Claudia Heller De Messer, a teacher at Parkside School for the Arts (K-8th grade) in Milwaukee, was nominated by Chief HR Officer Molly Schissler. Lindsay Feiker, a fourth-grader teacher at Humboldt Park School in Milwaukee, was the second recipient. She was nominated by her sister-in-law, Senior Deposit Operations Specialist Carrie Feiker. — Corporate Receptionist Nancy Hanson
Teacher Kelly Ambrose receives school supplies from Jackson Timko, son of Northland Associate Banker Dan Timko, and Lacee Kalepp’s godson, Logan.
Northland Branch Personal Banker Kelly Kading presents the school supplies to teacher Becca Beschta.
Northland Branch
Two teachers were selected to receive appreciation boxes from the Northland Branch—Becca Beschta, a first-grade teacher at Sugar Bush Elementary, and Kelly Ambrose, a kindergarten teacher at Jefferson Elementary. Mrs. Ambrose expressed appreciation for the gift card. She is going to use it to buy a series of books focusing on sensory issues and emotions for children in her classroom. — Area Manager and Community Engagement Manager Lacee Kalepp
Business Relationship Manager Jacob Verhaalen, HR Specialist Morgan Stark and Training Specialist Amy Ruffalo shopped for school supplies.
Kaleigh Wallace (right), Administrative Assistant at the Sonnenberg School, received the donations from Accounting Operations Manager Kristin Monday and her son, Henry. Henry is a fourth-grader at the school.
Human Resources and Business Banking
Human Resources and Business Banking teamed up and donated four boxes of school supplies to the Sonnenberg School in Racine, one of the few organizations in the country designed specifically to meet the needs of students on the Autism spectrum. School leaders were overwhelmed with gratitude that North Shore Bank thought of them for this special donation. — HR Specialist Morgan Stark
Special Education teacher Cheri VandenBogart receives her appreciation box from Lead Teller Tara Neuville.
Sturgeon Bay Branch
Special Education teacher Cheri VandenBogart has been on the job for 23 years and with Sturgeon Bay School District for 19. Cheri shows a great deal of patience, skill and knowledge. She is more than a teacher. She helps students with their medical needs while at school, assists them in moments where they can’t focus because of family or peer issues, and aids them to understand and learn. She truly goes above and beyond her job. Sturgeon Bay really felt she was someone that fit North Shore Bank’s beliefs and values. — Sturgeon Bay Lead Teller Tara Neuville
Special Education teacher Tywonna Laney receives her appreciation box from Ayden and Ezio, sons of Senior Contact Center Specialist Ashley Peck.
Senior Consumer Loan Specialist Kelly Schneider, and her daughter, Faith, show their appreciation to Alyssa Goodwillie, who teaches third grade.
Corporate Office, 4th Floor
One of the teachers who was a lucky recipient of our school supply drive is Tywonna Laney. She teaches Special Education at Jefferson Elementary in West Allis. Mrs. Laney worked as a teacher’s aide while completing her education to become a Special Education teacher. She is pictured with Senior Contact Center Specialist Ashley Peck’s sons, Ayden and Ezio, who have been fortunate to have Mrs. Laney as an aide and teacher. Kelly Schneider, Senior Consumer Loan Specialist, and her daughter, Faith, also delivered a box of donated supplies to Faith’s teacher, Alyssa Goodwillie, who teaches third grade at Washington Elementary in Wauwatosa. — Annette Mueller, AVP-Quality Assurance Manager
McHenry Branch Manager Greg Olech (right) delivers a Teacher Box of Appreciation to Clint Grabow, who teaches art.
McHenry Branch
The McHenry Branch delivered a Teacher Box of Appreciation to Clint Grabow, an art teacher at Parkland School in McHenry. We thanked him for his service to his students and presented him with the box of art supplies for his classes, a gift card to purchase more supplies later in the year, and a thank you card. — Greg Olech, McHenry Branch Manager
Braelyn Speich delivers the box of school supplies and the gift card to her new teacher, Michael Ernst.
Muskego Branch
The Muskego branch’s Teacher Box of Appreciation went to Michael Ernst, a fourth-grade teacher at Mill Valley Elementary. Braelyn Speich, daughter of Personal Banker Sara Speich, delivered the box and the gift card to Mr. Ernst, who will be her teacher this year. He was very grateful to receive the box and the $50 gift card. — Personal Banker Sara Speich
Devin Ortiz displays all the goodies she received from North Shore Bank. She’ll use the gift card to buy books for her classroom, and the kids will get to vote on which books they want.
Corporate Office, 3rd Floor
This year we are showing our appreciation to Devin Ortiz, a third-grade teacher at North Ozaukee Elementary School. Devin, who has been teaching for seven years, was nominated by her mom, Dana Scherff, Vice President, Information Systems. Here is what Dana had to say: She has always wanted to be a teacher. When she was a little girl, she would pretend to be a teacher in a classroom that we set up for her in our basement. … I remember her taking her pretend students on ‘field trips’ throughout the house, holding onto her clipboard. She would have my friends sit at the desks and ‘teach’ them. … The love of teaching has never waned as she got older. She loves helping kids and seeing them learn and grow. Since becoming a teacher, she’s received much recognition from parents and co-workers. She had a baby in 2023, but before that, she was very involved in her school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program. She has a little less time for extracurricular activities since becoming a mom, but she’s always there for her students and parents. — Training Specialist Amy Ruffalo