FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2022
SKOWHEGAN, MAINE Skowhegan Savings employees packed up 1,122 ‘shoeboxes’ full of Christmas gifts to send to children across the world this week as part of Operation Christmas Child, a charitable organization that sends out gifts to children in 170 countries and territories annually, in honor of a late employee.Tina Libby, an employee of the bank for over 25 years, passed away unexpectedly last January.
“I couldn’t say more good things about Tina, as both a dedicated employee and as a genuine human being,’ said David Cyr, president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings. “Her being was moved by helping others, often putting their needs before her own, and Operation Christmas Child was one of her projects that the bank and all of our employees wanted to keep going in honor of her memory.”
Libby, her family, community and her church dedicated themselves to packing at least 500 ‘shoeboxes’ full of hygiene items, school supplies and toys for Operation Christmas Child annually. The bank aimed to meet and exceed that goal this year.
The Skowhegan Savings Madison Branch collected 261 boxes for Operation Christmas Child with the help of customers and the community.
“I had the privilege of meeting Tina about six years ago as part of Operation Christmas Child, when I became the Regional Area Coordinator for the State of Maine. Her heart and passion for supporting children was clearly evident from our first interaction,” said Peter Gorczok, Maine regional coordinator for Operation Christmas Child. “Tina facilitated the collection of thousands of shoeboxes from her community, including her place of work. She leaves behind a rich legacy that is evident in this very project that Skowhegan Savings has undertaken on her behalf.”
Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, has provided over 198 million gifts to children across the world since the program’s inception in 1993.
“The children receiving these gifts may never have received a Christmas gift or even a gift at all without this program and Tina saw that need that needed to be filled,” said Cyr. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team, our customers and our communities for their willingness to step up to help us meet this goal in trying to make a child’s day just a bit brighter this holiday season in her legacy.”
For more information about Operation Christmas Child and how you can get involved, please visit any of the bank’s branches.
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