Alicia Townsend, U.S. Bank’s Vice President and Community Affairs Manager for Ohio metro areas, says she has always been “keenly aware of the great work East Akron Neighborhood Development Center (EANDC) was doing as an organization” based on a relationship between the bank and EANDC that has been nurtured and strengthened under the recent leadership of Cheryl Stephens, President and CEO, and EANDC’s board chair David Buchanan, a U.S. Bank employee.
“We have a heart for affordable housing” Townsend notes, indicating that EANDC “rose to the top pretty quickly” during a 2020 competitive grant opportunity which the U.S. Bank Foundation mobilized to invest $1 million nationwide in response to the urgent needs of COVID-19.
As part of U.S. Bank’s Community Possible initiative, Townsend sees EANDC as “an organization whose work is in alignment with our goals and values, making it so much easier to make a connection and have meaningful, long-lasting impact, especially in communities.”
“Our work isn’t done, and neither is East Akron’s,” says Townsend, noting the key role that Buchanan and Stephens have played in continuing to advance EANDC’s mission and deepen the relationship with U.S. Bank since the 2018 retirement of the nonprofit’s founding CEO, Grady Appleton. As a funding partner, the bank values their ability to be responsive to the needs of the East Akron community during COVID-19 but also looks forward to supporting the continued work of addressing the community’s racial and economic inequities.
Visit USBank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank’s commitment to being a part of the solution in closing racial wealth gaps, creating greater financial wellness, and addressing climate change.