On June 1, FirstBank launched the FirstBank Bloom Package, a new checking and savings account that will plant five trees for every account opened.
FirstBank has partnered with the global reforestation nonprofit, One Tree Planted (OTP), in hopes of planting 50,000 new trees in Colorado, Arizona and California.
For each First Bloom Package opened, FirstBank will donate $5 (or five trees), up to $50,000 (50,000 trees), to OTP. The offer is available to new and existing customers and runs through August 31, 2021.
The First Bloom package, offered at all FirstBank locations, is a linked checking and savings account. There are no minimum balance requirements and no monthly service fees, and it is available to anyone age 13 or older. It also has an autosave functionality, allowing for the automatic transfer of money from your checking into your savings account. Current customers can change their existing account to a First Bloom package by going online or by calling or visiting one of the bank locations in Carbondale, Glenwood Springs or Aspen.
Brendan Matthias, FirstBank Executive Vice President and a member of the Roaring Fork Valley market team, said the partnership with OTP was a suggestion from a bank employee. “We selected One Tree Planted to be our partner as it enabled us to work with one entity that could directly impact all three of the states in which we do business,” Matthias explained.
In a recent press release, OTP Canopy Director Diana Chaplin said, “We’re thrilled to work with businesses like FirstBank, who really care about the planet and their communities, and are enabling their customers to help make a difference, too.” She added, “We’re looking forward to the longstanding impacts of this campaign and are proud to call FirstBank a partner.”
Matthias reiterated the importance of the tree-planting campaign to this region, saying, “Each of these states, unfortunately, are familiar with persistent drought conditions and wildfire danger and the effects that they have on the health of our local forests, and that especially resonates here with us with Lake Christine in 2018 and Grizzly Creek last year. We’ve been working on it, but finding that connection was impactful for us.”
Matthias explained one of FirstBank’s core tenets is to give back to the communities they serve. He said, “We provide all of our employees with two paid days off to support organizations that they have a passion about. Company-wide, we have figured that translates to about 45,000 volunteer hours, offered annually. Locally, for ourselves, in the middle of May, a bunch of our folks worked with Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers and did wildfire mitigation at the Wulfsohn Trail system in Glenwood [Springs].”
The First Bloom campaign has already shown positive results throughout FirstBank’s service region. “Honestly, we’re thrilled with the results so far. In just three weeks, through June 18, which is the last count we have, we’ve been able to plant 10,450 trees. That’s pretty successful in the first 18 days of a 90-day campaign, so we’re really excited about it,” Matthias said.
As for where the trees will be planted, Matthias explained, “One of the things with One Tree Planted is you have to trust that their process is evaluating where the need is the greatest and where you can affect that change – in the greatest and the most immediate manner. The Roaring Fork Valley is an important aspect of their work. They have worked here, and they will continue to work here.”
To learn more about One Tree Planted, visit onetreeplanted.org
To learn more about FirstBank’s Bloom Package, go to efirstbank.com/green