First Bank has been investing in our community for generations, and we are doing it again. The bank has donated $30,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls to enhance the educational technology lab at their Northwest, Central, and Southeast locations. The lab is used by students in the club’s after school program to access Google Classroom and complete their homework before they go home for the evening. Many of these students do not have a WIFI connection at home.
“We are filling an immediate need which will have a significant impact on the academic success of students in the Wichita Falls Independent School District,” said Brandon Anderson, President of First Bank’s Wichita Falls Market. “Many of these students do not have the resources at home to help with their school work or educational growth. The technology lab provides that for them.”
The Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls after school program serves nearly 4,000 WFISD students total through its five locations. Enrollment increased significantly when the school year began in August. The lab at the Central location only had three working computers. It needed a minimum of 15 computers to adequately serve the needs of the students enrolled there.
“Contributions like this one from First Bank help us to continue molding these young minds to be productive, responsible and caring young adults,” said Randy Cooper, the club’s Executive Director. “Many evidence-based studies tell us that children who participate in after school programs perform better academically in school, participate in more extra-curricular activities with positive results and have fewer encounters with the juvenile justice system.”
First Bank has been serving the Wichita Falls area for well over a century, proudly walking side by side with families, organizations and businesses that lift up its great community.