When we put their resources together, local animal shelters win big. Beginning in December and ending January 31, we collected donations from employees and customers for the Sangamon County Animal Control and animal rescue charities in Mt. Pulaski, Peoria and Fairmount, Ill. The Sangamon County Animal Control received dog and cat food, leashes, collars, treats, a Kuranda Dog Bed and much more. We also made a $200 cash donation.

Our Mt. Pulaski location accepted donations in the branch and received quite a few items valued at about $200. Branch staff also made a $50 monetary donation to the Humane Society of Logan County.

Peoria branch employees love supporting their local programs too. Foster Pet Outreach hosted a “Pins for Pets” bowling night and staff, along with their families, bowled. They also collected items in their branch. All proceeds raised will go to the care of the foster animals in the Greater Peoria Area.

Pictured – Sade Boyd is congratulating Kim Turk on her strike.

To sweeten the deal with INB staff, we offered participants who donated a chance to win one of five $15 gift cards. Read why these five winners chose to donate:

Theresa Adams, Deposit Operations Specialist: I love animals and only wish I could give more.

Courtney Bentley, Customer Call Center: “I chose to donate because shelters like SCAC need help to give the animals in their care the necessities they need. I have two rescue dogs myself, and I love being able to support other animals that are currently in need. Animals that are in a shelter have either had a rough life or are scared of being in a new, strange situation, so I want to help them in any way I can. These animals need our support.”

Justin Graves, Mortgage Funding Specialist: I donated because I have a rescue animal. And most shelters rely on help from the community. Without donations they wouldn’t be able to help the animals. There was a quote I saw that read: “They might be here a part of our lives, but to them we are their whole life.” So why not donate?

Nick Horton, Commercial Lending: I chose to donate because we are big animal lovers in my family. My wife is a volunteer and foster parent for the APL, and shelters deal with financial challenges every day when trying to care for all the animals in their shelter.