A soon-to-be saver shows PB Ruthie McDowell her bank.

Families that live near our Milwaukee Capitol branch gathered Saturday, Aug. 18, at nearby Lancaster School for the fourth annual “Keeping Our Community Strong” block party. North Shore Bank has been a major sponsor every year, supporting the event’s goal of creating a setting for people to get acquainted in a fun, safe way.

Representatives of neighborhood businesses and community services were on hand to interact with the crowd and to provide information about their products and services.

Bank staff provided materials for children to construct and decorate Seymour Savings banks, and Milwaukee Capitol’s PB Ruthie McDowell and Branch Manager Carol Herrmann were on hand to talk about the importance of saving money.

Kids had fun praise dancing, running sack races, joining in other organized games, and jumping around in a bouncy house. Adults could enter a drawing for a free family pass to the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Youngsters have fun coloring Seymour Savings pictures to wrap around and glue to a cardboard cylinder to create a bank. Kids could check a box that indicated their goal for their savings: spend, save or share. “One little girl drew a stick figure in the share box, and when I asked what it meant, she said, ‘Share with my little sister,’” Carol Hermann says.

Carol Hermann and a helper announce the winner of the Milwaukee Museum family pass.