Giving Back To The Community
By Lance Mizumoto
President & Chief Banking Officer of Central Pacific Bank
Community giving is an important part of our mission and culture at Central Pacific Bank. In fact, our bank was founded to provide opportunities for everyone in Hawaii. When the bank was first formed, our founders decided against selling a large percentage of stock to one entity and instead insisted on opening shares up to local residents.
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Our founders knew that if they were to create a bank for the people of Hawaii, it had to be owned by the people of Hawaii. Plantation workers, business owners, war veterans and young families that filled our Islands embraced the opportunity to be involved in organizing a bank.
CPB was built by the people of Hawaii, and thus it is of great importance that we continue to give back. Our culture of giving is reinforced by our 800-plus employees, who have lent countless hours of their time, talents and expertise to community organizations.
In 2013, our employees logged almost 4,600 hours volunteering at bank-sponsored community events. In addition, many of our employees also contribute by serving on boards of community and nonprofit organizations.
This year we are proud to celebrate 60 years of serving the people of Hawaii. We kicked off our anniversary with a 50-Cent Plate Lunch Sale in honor of the bank’s founders: a young group of nisei veterans who met regularly at Ala Moana Beach Park with their 50-cent plate lunches to discuss the creation of a new bank.
We continue to give back by partnering with Helping Hands Hawaii for the sixth consecutive year to collect school supplies and monetary donations at our 37 branches statewide for the Ready to Learn program. Ready to Learn provides more than 10,000 low-income Hawaii keiki with new backpacks and classroom supplies at the start of each school year.
Community efforts such as the Ready to Learn program help to make a better Hawaii.
We are so thankful to be a part of this community and we are so proud to call these Islands our home for the past 60 years. From our ohana to yours, mahalo!
