Maine Savings on track to exceed yearly minimum donation of $10,000 to the Black Bear Fund

Old Town, Maine – Last fall, Maine Savings announced a five-year partnership with Black Bear Sports Properties to provide members with the Black Bear Debit Card. After only 5 months of the partnership, Maine Savings has issued the thousandth debit card.

For every purchase made with the Black Bear Debit Card, Maine Savings contributes $0.05 to the Black Bear Fund. Each year of the five-year agreement, Maine Savings will donate a minimum of $10,000. Maine Savings set the minimum annual contribution at $10,000 to allow time for enough cards to be issued that the $0.05 contributions would add up to a meaningful amount. But with 1,000 cards already issued, the contributions will likely exceed that $10,000 even in the first year.

“With 1,000 debit cards issued, we are quickly accumulating contributions for the Black Bear Fund at the University of Maine,” explained John Reed, president and CEO of Maine Savings. “We knew this would be a popular program, but these early results have exceeded our expectations. I want to personally thank our members for their support of our partnership and the student athletes.”

LisaCarter1000Lisa Carter, of the University of Maine’s Maine Bound program, was issued the 1,000th Black Bear Debit Card. To celebrate, she will receive a University of Maine hockey jersey autographed by Jimmy Howard, four tickets to all ticketed sporting events next year, a $50 VISA gift card and a $25 gift card to the Family Dog.

“Our student-athletes work hard to achieve excellence in academics and athletics. We are grateful to Maine Savings for their support of the Black Bear Fund and its direct scholarship support to our student-athletes,” said Karlton Creech, University of Maine Director of Athletics.

The Black Bear debit card is available to all Maine Savings members with RedWallet accounts. To learn more about the exclusive debit card and to sign up, visit www.mainesavings.com or visit one of the ten Maine Savings branches.

About Maine Savings:
Maine Savings is a modern financial institution with state-of-the-art technology offering members a full range of financial services, including RedWallet Checking. With more than 26,000 members, 10 branches and nearly 100 employees, Maine Savings is among Maine’s largest credit unions. Maine Savings is committed to providing in-person services paired with modern conveniences. Branches are located in Bangor, Bar Harbor (Jackson Laboratory), Brewer, Corinth, Ellsworth, Hampden, Milo, North Vassalboro and Old Town. Founded in 1961 by employees of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Company, Maine Savings continues to serve its membership as a federally insured not-for-profit credit union.

About Black Bear Sports Properties:
Black Bear Sports Properties is one of nearly 100 collegiate properties managed by Learfield Sports. Learfield’s rich history includes four decades of developing trusted, long-term relationships with some of the most revered institutions and associations in the world of college sports. The company has prominence in all of the major conferences and titles the prestigious Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. Learfield represents collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas for their respective multimedia rights and sponsorship initiatives, and offers these partners with professional concessions and ticket sales, licensing and trademark consulting and digital platform expertise through its owned companies. To learn more about its history, businesses and job opportunities, please visit www.learfieldsports.com.