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News Releases
Dec 06, 2007
HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge Raises More Than $90,000 for Planting Trees in the Puget Sound Region
SEATTLE – HomeStreet Bank and its partners Cascade Land Conservancy, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Capitol Land Trust and Friends of the Hylebos have raised more than $90,000 through the HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge to support tree planting programs in the Puget Sound region.
For a two-month period from September 15 – November 15, 2007, HomeStreet matched funds raised by its partners to support the HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge. The total amount of contributions and match are designated to support the effort to plant and care for over 1,800 new trees.
“The enthusiasm with which the community embraced this program is truly overwhelming,” said Kathryn Williams, community relations director for HomeStreet Bank. “This demonstrates how important a healthy and vibrant tree canopy is to people throughout our region.”
Funding from the Tree Challenge will nurture young trees from pre-planting until they become established approximately four years later. The process involves preparing the land, including removal of invasive species; planting and mulching; and follow-up care, often including hand-watering to give each tree the best chance for survival.
“Trees are unique in their ability to effectively make our region a better place to live, work and play,” said Gene Duvernoy, president of the Cascade Land Conservancy. “Through our Cascade Agenda Green Cities programs such as Green Kirkland and the Green Seattle Partnership, we are working hard to restore the forested parklands of our cities and towns. The planting of native trees through programs such as HomeStreet’s tree challenge are a key to the success of those programs. We are honored to haves been a partner with such a far-thinking organization as HomeStreet Bank.”
HomeStreet Bank piloted the program this fall, after spending several months developing the model with its nonprofit partners. “We knew we wanted to create a program that would benefit the local environment, and we wanted to build it in partnership with a group of community organizations whose focus includes tree planting and maintenance,” explained Williams. “The success of this first year of the HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge gives us great hope that this is a program we can repeat going forward.”
Founded in 1921, Seattle-based family- and employee-owned HomeStreet Bank is one of the largest privately-owned banks in the Northwest. The bank has assets of $2.73 billion and a network of 30 banking and mortgage offices in the Northwest and Hawaii. HomeStreet Bank has two key areas of corporate support: housing and homes, and parks and open spaces. Each year, the bank contributes at least two percent of its pre-tax profits to organizations in its communities. HomeStreet Bank has consistently received an “outstanding” rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
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