Food pantry fundraiser returning, volunteers welcome

The bank is once again raising funds to fight hunger in Wisconsin. As part of the Bank on Kindness community goodwill program, we’re inviting the public to donate money to any of nine local food pantries at give.mastercard.com/p/northshorebank, from Monday, February 7 through Sunday, February 20. The bank will match up to $500 in donations to each pantry.

This month, you can win a $75 gift card by sharing one of the bank’s social posts. Tell your network how to help our food pantries on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Last year, we collected over $23,000 for nine pantries. The bank will announce this year’s fundraising drive on Monday. To get the donation link starting then, people can also text Kindness to 77938.

The nine pantries we’ve partnered with are Family Sharing of Ozaukee County, Food Pantry of Waukesha County, Grace Welcome Center in Kenosha, Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Christian Center, Paul’s Pantry in Green Bay, Racine County Food Bank, St. Joseph Food Program in Menasha, and Sussex Outreach Services.

If you’re interested, volunteer opportunities are available at Grace Welcome Center, Hunger Task Force, and St. Joseph Food Program. To get involved, just email marketing support specialist Sheri Livermore by end of day Wednesday, February 9. •••

Bankers meet Muskego students at networking event

Community engagement manager Stephanie Bluemel and personal banker Matthew Cieslak attended a networking lunch for Muskego High School students at Alpine Lanes bowling alley last Thursday, January 27.

“The high school likes to do this event off of school grounds to give them a full networking experience,” Stephanie said. The event is put on by the Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce and the school’s Career Connections program, which lets students leave school early to go to work.

“It was a really great experience,” Matthew said. “The students were engaging and had many different career paths in mind. I shared they should be as well rounded and self-motivated as possible, and look for opportunity in places they might not always expect! It is very apparent that the Career Connections program is quite effective.”

About 10 other local businesspeople attended. This was Stephanie’s second year participating in the networking events, and Matthew’s first. “He did an amazing job supporting North Shore Bank and our mission,” Stephanie said. “You could sincerely feel his passion for his job.”

The Muskego bankers will attend three more such events over the next month. The networking events are held multiple times to give all interested students a chance to attend. •••

Share a post and win a $75 gift!
During the month of February, employees who share any of the bank’s social media posts will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $75 gift certificate to Fanatics sports apparel and collectibles.

You can find and share cool stuff from North Shore Bank in all the usual places — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Winners will be announced in Shorelines. Marketing employees are not eligible to win, and each employee can win only once during this contest. Thanks for helping get the word out! •••

Metro North SOAR survey yields many compliments
This month, the Metro North District invited internal customers to take the internal SOAR Together survey and rate their satisfaction with the service they’ve received from the district’s branches. The district scored high and received some great compliments! Cristen Baumann shares more here.

Before starting your taxes, try this free coaching session

With tax season upon us, let your customers — and friends and family — know about our Tax Return Pre-Game Coach.

This free online coaching session will be really helpful for anybody who’s new to filing taxes, or still doesn’t feel entirely sure of themselves when it comes to their tax return. Even more seasoned filers might find it useful, especially as provisions from the new federal tax law of 2017 come into effect. The session will help you figure out what forms and information you’ll need, and takes only seven minutes. •••

Take care of your mind — don’t overload it

We have to learn to be gentle with our own minds. They have amazing capabilities, but are fragile instruments that can be damaged when overloaded. We have to avoid overworking them, trying to do too many things at one time. We have to reduce our bandwidth, so we can process everything smoothly. This can be done by focusing on one thing at a time.

Try this meditation for one minute every day, or longer if you want to:

NOTICE THE WAYS you might being doing too much by leaving things until the last minute, letting your emotions get roiled up, not stopping to gather important details. Make a promise to yourself to be kinder to your mind. Change that pattern of thinking and working, so you have maximum ease in your daily tasks. Be kind to your mind, and it will be kind to you.

My own heart let me have more pity on; let
Me live to my sad self hereafter kind,
Charitable; not live this tormented mind
With this tormented mind tormenting yet…
Soul, self…I do advise
You, jaded, let be; call off
thoughts awhile.
Elsewhere; leave comfort root-room…
—Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet

How did this meditation go for you? Share your experience at shorelines@northshorebank.com and you’ll be entered to win a copy of A Mindful Day: 365 Ways to Live Life With Peace, Clarity, and an Open Heart, by David Dillard-Wright.

If you’d like a daily email reminder to practice one minute of mindfulness, email us with the subject “Mindfulness reminder.” •••

Promotions for January 2022
The following employees were promoted in January:

• Rachel Dahlke was promoted from Teller to Teller Supervisor at Southwest.
• Colleen Moore was promoted from Mailroom Assistant to Mail Services Supervisor.
• Bryan Peters was promoted from Senior Systems Analyst to Application Development Team Leader.

Leave a comment to congratulate them!

Visit zoo for Family Free Day
Looking for something to do? Here are suggestions from the bank’s event calendar.

Family Free Day at the Milwaukee County Zoo is this Saturday, February 5. Sponsored by North Shore Bank, the day lets the public — including YOU and your family and friends — enjoy the zoo at no charge. (Parking and concessions fees are still in place.) Come explore between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.! •••