North Plainfield Unity Bank and Italian American Club Join Hearts and Hands to Feed the Homeless on Thanksgiving

(North Plainfield, NJ, November 30, 2010) – In an outpouring of support, compassion and goodwill, North Plainfield’s Unity Bank Branch Manager teamed up with the town’s Italian American Club to provide a traditional Thanksgiving feast to more than 150 of North Plainfield and Plainfield’s homeless population on Thanksgiving Day.

Christopher Bono, Vice President/Relationship Manager of North Plainfield’s Unity Bank branch came up with the idea only a few short weeks ago. He then pitched the idea to the Italian American Club, of which he is a member, hoping they would contribute their hall for the dinner. And they did. The club also provided a monetary contribution and members to assist with food preparation, serving, and cleanup. According to Bono, “I’ve have wanted to do this for some time. It’s truly amazing what you can accomplish in only a few short weeks when you’re doing something that makes Thanksgiving something that others can really look forward to. And helping the homeless in the community that we serve made this even more gratifying. That’s what local community banking is all about – giving back to the towns we serve.”

Bono contacted the Salvation Army Corps of Plainfield to inform the organization about the event so that it could direct homeless families to the dinner, which was served from noon to 2:00 p.m. The menu included turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, corn and pumpkin pie.

In addition to the Italian American Club and Unity Bank’s North Plainfield Branch, local organizations that contributed monetary donations and/or volunteers to help staff the event included the North Plainfield Lions and North Plainfield Rotary Club. Unity Bank President and CEO, James Hughes, helped with food preparation on Wednesday, November 24th and Chairman of the Board, David Dallas, was on hand to help with serving on Thursday. Many of Bono’s family members and friends also provided financial and in-person support; Bono raised more than $1,300 to help with the cost of food, beverages, paper goods and other supplies for the event.

Vincent Scafuto, President of the Italian American Club, stated, “This event illustrates the heartfelt compassion of our Italian American Club members and our co-sponsors who provided a warm, welcoming setting and a home-cooked meal to the many families in need this Thanksgiving. We hope to provide future events such as this in the near future.”

About Unity Bank
Unity Bank has branches in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties in New Jersey, and Northampton County in Pennsylvania. The bank began as First Community Bank in 1991 with two branches and thirty employees. It now has over one hundred and sixty employees.

For more information about Unity Bank, call Rosemary Fellner at 800.618.BANK(2265), or visit www.unitybank.com.

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