Banking on KC – Kim Thornton & Bryan Mallory of Country Club Bank
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode are Bryan Mallory and Kim Thornton, who are associates here at the bank. Bryan is a regional president and Kim is a regional manager, and they're both involved in a very, very special program here at the bank and it involves a community, involves the associates, customers. It's called Coats for Kids, and Bryan was here from day one when it got started many years ago. So Bryan, why don't you start us off by telling us what was the inspiration for the program? Who was involved? What was it like that first year?
Bryan Mallory:
Sure, Kelly. The program was actually started by Brent Bettels, a former employee at what was then Allen Bank and Trust, but we became Country Club Bank. And he had the program at another bank that he was formerly employed at. Community's big for us, so we wanted to do something to give back. So Brent had this idea and got a lot of us commercial lenders involved. We started in the summer of 2004. Back then I believe we had maybe five or six schools that we worked with, and I believe the first goal we had was $750 is what we wanted to raise. It's 20 years later, the program has grown significantly.
Kelly Scanlon:
First of all, you made a really good point. You started in the summer, and if I understand right now, it's a year long kind of effort and Kim will speak more to that. So you're raising money, $750 so you could buy coats.
Bryan Mallory:
That's something unique about our program. We don't take used coats, we only buy brand new coats. There's a tag on every coat. Some children they've told us they never had a coat that had tags because they would always get a hand-me-down or something from Goodwill, et cetera. So no, they're all brand new coats.
Kim Thornton:
And that's the other interesting thing about non-accepting donations of coats is because we want to make sure every child has a coat that actually fits them. So the schools tell us the gender and the size that they need based on the people who have submitted requests.
Kelly Scanlon:
So you collected $750 in cash just that first year. That would've bought a lot of coats, I suspect.
Bryan Mallory:
Yes, back then it did. And back then we were still fulfilling a need, but we were able to work with a local Walmart that sold them to us at discount. Well, that's since gone away because of the number of coats. The ladies would actually go to Walmart with the list and buy the particular coat for the child.
Kelly Scanlon:
Kim, you work with the schools to get the appropriate sizes and so forth?
Kim Thornton:
Yes, that's correct. We reach out to the school counselors normally in September and they work with families. They let them know that this opportunity is available and then the families that attend those particular schools let the school counselor know that yes, they would like to be the recipient of a coat and they need a boy's coat or a girl's coat in this particular size, and then we make sure that we have a coat to meet that need. What we've heard from a number of the counselors that we work with is that these children at no point in time have ever experienced what it feels like to actually receive a brand new coat. They've either gotten one from Goodwill or it's a hand-me-down from another family member. So for them to actually have a coat with tags on it is very special moment for that child.
Kelly Scanlon:
Bryan, you have stayed with the program now for the last 20 years, so you know a lot of history. How has the program changed during that time?
Bryan Mallory:
Well, simply the numbers and the amount of schools that we've taken on. We started very small in Cass County, maybe Belton, Raymore, Peculiar, Harrisonville. We've now branched out to Lee's Summit and now even further. I believe we have, Kim, 50 schools now.
Kim Thornton:
Correct.
Kelly Scanlon:
So you go from-
Bryan Mallory:
Five, roughly.
Kelly Scanlon:
Five schools. So 10 times the amount and I assume 10 times the kids, maybe even more. So Kim, you got involved a few years ago. What is your role now?
Kim Thornton:
My role is to coordinate with these schools to get the orders in. I then am the primary purchaser of the coats, so I source the coats that are needed. And then I also have the opportunity to work with the bank to organize events to both unbox those coats when those orders come in from the places we have purchased them from. And then we also have events where we get together to fill the orders and box those up, and then we also then take them out to the schools to deliver them to the school counselors.
Bryan Mallory:
Kelly, she's not given herself full credit for that. This program has gotten to where it is today, even though she's only been involved four years, because of Kim. If you look at where we started, $750 to I believe almost 40,000 this year. It wouldn't have happened without her. You mentioned I've been involved all along the way. Well, I've been involved, but there's always been someone who's taken full ownership of this throughout, maybe four or five people throughout the 20 years. No one's taken it on like Kim. Kim never says, "No, I challenged... We need more schools. Can we do this?" She's never said, "No, we can't." So she won't take the credit, but she needs to. It wouldn't be where we are without her.
Kelly Scanlon:
Talk to us a little bit about how associates in the community get involved.
Kim Thornton:
The associates are one of the primary drivers of this program. Of the money that we raise, probably two thirds of it comes from the grassroots efforts that occur in our branch locations. They not only ask our customers for donations when they come in to do banking transactions, but also they will hold events, chili cook-offs, bake sales. We have auctions that we hold of gift baskets. So there's a variety of different programs that they try to implement in their branches to try to help raise funds for this. So we absolutely could not do it without our associates. And then in addition to the associates, we have some very wonderful commercial partners and individuals in this community who will in turn donate themselves quite generously.
Kelly Scanlon:
So they have the jars at the teller windows where obviously you can drop in a few bucks if you're inclined when you're making your transaction. But can they also attend the different events you were just talking about?
Kim Thornton:
Absolutely. Our marketing department does an amazing job of letting our customers know about the events that we have coming up. Oftentimes you will have a customer who'll come in on a bake sale day and they will buy things for their associates. Our branch in Harrisonville, a number of the commercial clients there when it's Walking Taco Day, will go ahead and buy their associates lunch that day by buying the walking tacos or at our chili cook-off in our Belton facility. Again, they will just come in and buy several bowls of chili and then take it back to the workplace for their associates to have for lunch that day.
Kelly Scanlon:
So it sounds like there's lots of opportunities to give and to participate, whether you're a bank associate or whether you're a customer.
Bryan Mallory:
She mentioned our commercial partners and that's some of our best partners. And over time we would reach out and say, "Do you want to be involved?" And as they've seen the program grow and the success it's had and what it really does for the children, we don't really have to ask anymore. They say, "Is it Coats for Kids time?" And they'll drop off a check and they find joy in that. So it's great all around.
Kelly Scanlon:
Speaking of growing, let's talk about that for a minute, Kim. How's the program doing today? You go from five schools and $750 to what are you... I mean, you've just finished up most of your events for this year, I don't know if you have the numbers in, but what are we looking at?
Kim Thornton:
Well, for this year, we are currently now serving 13 different school districts, a total of 50 schools. And this year the request for coats came in at 1,077 coats. So there was quite a bit of fundraising that needed to be done because over time, as with most things, the cost per coat has increased dramatically.
Kelly Scanlon:
Absolutely.
Kim Thornton:
So we are now looking at an average cost of about $30 a coat. So you do that math, you're looking at having to raise approximately $32,000 in order to be able to fill all of those needs. So we went from $750 to $32,000 now to meet the need. Not only did we make it, we actually surpassed it. We ended up raising just a little bit over 39,000 this year.
Kelly Scanlon:
$39,000. That's incredible. So when you have a little bit extra like that, you surpass the goal. Do you put another call out for additional needs or is there something you do with that excess?
Kim Thornton:
What we do is any school that maybe we didn't hear from, we will reach back out to them. And then also, it is not uncommon for the schools that we've already delivered coats to reach back out to us and say, "Hey, we didn't get this particular family in the original request. Do we still have more coats that we can take?" We are always trying to meet the needs. In past years, we've even had some employees of the bank who have asked if they could take some coats to church programs or things like that that they are a member of and we are always willing to accommodate. There's need everywhere.
Kelly Scanlon:
Is there any kind of requirement for being able to sign up for one of these coats?
Kim Thornton:
There is not. It is truly based on if you tell us you need a coat, we're going to make sure you have a coat.
Kelly Scanlon:
What have been some of the most satisfying moments during your involvement with this program?
Bryan Mallory:
I think no doubt it's seeing the pictures when you deliver the coats is one thing. The counselors are excited, but if they are allowed, they take pictures of the kids getting their coats. But then we've received thank you notes that... We give a presentation at the staff meetings to talk about our results and we'll put some thank you notes up on the board and sometimes you can't get through them without tearing up. And one I recall specifically, this little girl's family got three coats and she told us how thankful she was. And she said, this is a third grade girl I believe, "You should be proud of yourselves for what you're doing." And to have a third-grader tell you that, it's heartwarming, that's for sure.
Kelly Scanlon:
Kim, right now you're pretty much the contact person and a heavy lifter here within the bank for this program, and you came in during Covid when I would imagine the need was even greater. How did you gear up for those kinds of increased numbers?
Kim Thornton:
The wonderful thing about working for an institution like Country Club Bank is that one of our core values is empathy and teamwork. And so whenever there is a need in the communities that we serve, it actually doesn't take a lot to get our associates involved. They are very willing to step up. "What can I do?" They are the ones that are usually coming to me with ideas, "Hey, we're thinking about doing this. Do you think we should try this?" "Absolutely, let's run with that." My role is more as the point person to make sure that the wheels keep turning, but they are the fuel behind the train that is moving.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's a great way to put it. And it strikes me when you were describing the chili cook-offs and some of the other special events you have to raise money, that they're great team building exercises as well. So speaking from that standpoint, what kinds of an impact have being able to work together on a common cause like this done for associates in the bank? For the culture?
Bryan Mallory:
It's exactly what you said. Without knowing it, you are building that team and it's something that everyone can get behind. If you can't get excited about helping fund a little kid to have a coat and at the same time you work together. We have friendly competitions among the branches too, so there's some incentive there. But you're right, it's a great team building exercise.
Kelly Scanlon:
We've talked about the first year and we've talked about this year, but in aggregate for the last 20 years, do you have any numbers for how much you've raised and how many coats you've been able to purchase? How many children you've served?
Kim Thornton:
Absolutely. So in terms of our fundraising efforts, including the totals from this year, we've raised just shy of $193,000 and we've been able to use that money to purchase 6,588 coats program today.
Kelly Scanlon:
I know that your events for this year are over, but are you still collecting money? In mid-December, if our listeners are interested in contributing yet this year, is there a way for them to do that?
Kim Thornton:
Absolutely. We take donations all year long. Also, one of the things that we added two years ago was the ability to donate through Venmo. And so we do... Each of our branch has a sheet of paper that has the QR code on it. So if you want to stop by one of our branch locations, you can scan that Venmo QR code and donate that way as well. So we've tried to make it as easy as possible to collect the funds so that we can purchase these codes.
Kelly Scanlon:
Excellent. People can still donate. You can go to any branch, you can put some dollars in the jar, you can Venmo, all kinds of different ways. And that makes me wonder what about next year? You've already up the ante, so to speak, for this year over the last several years. What about 2025?
Kim Thornton:
We are definitely looking to expand in 2025. One of the wonderful things that happened last year was before all of our fundraising efforts were really done by the branches in the southeast region and then the south region. And last year, we expanded to doing this bank-wide. And by expanding our fundraising efforts bank-wide, it is allowing us to add schools in all of the communities that we have branch locations in. So we've already are in talks with some schools in the Lansing School district. So Lansing may be additional schools that we add for next year.
Kelly Scanlon:
So bigger and better than ever, serving more children, keeping those little souls warm. Well, Bryan, Kim, thank you so much for joining us today to talk about this wonderful program. And thank you for all you do and for all the effort that you've put in leading this program. I know everybody's involved, but thank you for your leadership.
Kim Thornton:
Thank you.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Kim Thornton and Bryan Mallory for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. The Coats for Kids campaign exemplifies three of Country Club Bank's core values, compassion, teamwork, and enthusiasm. Since its launch in 2005 by former associate Brent Bettels, the program has grown into a powerful initiative helping thousands of children stay warm each winter. With events like chili cook-offs and bake sales, our associates and community partners work together to raise funds for new coats. Driven by our dedicated associates, the campaign continues to thrive. Bringing the community together in a shared mission of care and support. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City. Country Club Bank, member FDIC.