November 12, 2020 by Hilary Jenison (courtesy photos)
Earlier this year, South Shore Bank (SSB) successfully helped more than 1,000 businesses save more than 13,000 local jobs through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Hingham Anchor was a grateful recipient of the PPP program via SSB. We were so impressed by their thoughtful, personal approach and efficient process that we ultimately became long-term business clients of the bank.
SSB has been a partner of the Hingham Anchor since the very beginning. With similar missions, SSB believed in our goal to be a community resource for locals by locals from the outset. Thanks to South Shore Bank’s continued support of local journalism, we have grown and expanded the Hingham Anchor despite the recent pandemic challenges.
Throughout the PPP, the South Shore Bank staff worked tirelessly to quickly ensure community applicants secured essential PPP funding.
As Jim Dunphy, CEO of South Shore Bank, recently shared with the Anchor, “It was really all hands on deck. We had the ability to help people, and do something meaningful as community bankers. All of our employees jumped at the chance to help; it was inspiring to be a part of it.”
While South Shore Bank was grateful for its role in the PPP, they did not feel right profiting on the program at a time when so many are still facing financial hardships. For this reason, South Shore Bank decided to take its PPP net proceeds and create the South Shore Bank Community Fund with $500,000 to assist its clients who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 with making monthly rent or mortgage payments.
Dunphy adds, “As a community bank, we want to give back, and we did not believe we should have any windfall from people’s distress during the pandemic. South Shore Bank was founded with the idea that the most valuable, most enduring success is shared success.”
South Shore Bank Community Fund
The fund is modeled after the successful Quincy Hospitality Support Fund created by Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, the City of Quincy’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and the Quincy Chamber of Commerce that helped workers in the restaurant, hospitality, and food & beverage industries who had been impacted by the almost complete economic shutdown caused by COVID-19. The Quincy Chamber of Commerce is the administrator for the South Shore Bank Community Fund.
The South Shore Bank Community Fund will provide $500,000 to assist clients who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 with making monthly rent or mortgage payments.
To qualify for assistance, clients must meet the following requirements:
- Must be 18+ years old.
- Must have been a South Shore Bank client prior to August 1, 2020.
- Must currently be a South Shore Bank client.
- Liquid assets must be less than $15,000 (submit bank statement).
- Must provide proof of rent or mortgage obligation (e.g., lease agreement, mortgage statement).
- Must have been employed prior to March 1, 2020.
- Prior or current annual income must be less than $100,000 (submit pay stub).
- Fully complete and submit the South Shore Bank Community Fund Request Form
Learn more and request funds at https://www.SouthShoreBankCommunityFund.com.
Should you have any local business or personal banking needs, we highly recommend giving John Mannion and Jackie Maffeo at the South Shore Bank Hingham Branch a call – located in Downtown Hingham, Jackie and John provide a personal touch that just can’t be found at national banks, they are what community banking and South Shore Bank is all about!
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