UNION GROVE- Every Holiday Season, children and families within our local communities find themselves struggling to pay the bills, buy clothes, or even buy food. This year, Community State Bank, with the help of Children's Service Society of Wisconsin and our community, is trying to make a difference with a gift program for underprivileged children.

The program, appropriately titled "A Gift from the Heart", is designed to provide toys and clothing to needy children within the communities we live. These children could be acquaintances, neighbors, or even friends.

Jeff Nielsen, Community State Bank AVP Marketing, thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for the community-focused bank to help struggling families during the holidays. "Our staff is proud of the community in which they live and work and want to help in a very personal way," Nielsen said. "Many underprivileged children's wishes will go unfulfilled unless we as a community do our part." 

The Children's Service Society of Wisconsin will provide the names of local children in need this Holiday Season for the program. Starting Monday, November 19th, customers will be given the chance (at each Community State Bank office location) to choose a candy cane with a name on it from the "Giving Tree". Each ornament will have the child's first name, gender, age, and what he/she needs or would like.

Customers are asked to purchase a gift for a child and return it to the location where they chose the name by Saturday, December 15th. The gift should be UNWRAPPED and returned with the original [name] name tag. Community State Bank's staff will have them ready to be picked up and delivered by the Children's Service Society of Wisconsin about a week before Christmas.

Community State Bank is a locally owned and managed independent community bank for over 104 years with branch offices in eight communities in southeastern Wisconsin: Union Grove, Kansasville, Mt. Pleasant, Paddock Lake, Rochester, Sturtevant, Burlington and Waterford.