F&M Trust donates $5,000 to American Heart Association

F&M Trust recently donated $5,000 to the American Heart Association, Capital Region in support of its mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. The American Heart Association (AHA) has invested more than $5 billion in research, making it the largest not-for-profit funding source for cardiovascular disease next to the federal government.

“Heart disease is devastating to so many families. It claims the lives of fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters,” said Tim Henry, F&M Trust President and CEO. “Hopefully, our contribution toward research and heart health education will help to prevent the loss of loved ones for families across the Capital Region.”

F&M Trust Vice President Christian Merritt is participating in AHA’s Leaders of Impact campaign, which launched on September 29 and will conclude on November 15. Participants in the seven-week competition work to build campaign plans, recruit teams, raise funds, and inspire their networks to support AHA’s lifesaving mission.

Leaders of Impact participants and their successes will be celebrated at the Capital Region Heart Ball on February 4, 2023, at Hershey Lodge. F&M Trust is a sponsor of the event.

Merritt, F&M Trust’s Investment & Trust Services Market Manager for Cumberland County and the Capital Region, chose to participate to honor his grandfather, who died at the age of 54, and his mother’s siblings, who share a history of cardiac events.

“Even though this is personal for me, it’s about much more than me,” Merritt said. “My hope is that our work together will positively influence many individuals and families.”

American Heart Association, Capital Region serves Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry, and York counties. The organization works with city leaders to support more walking and biking routes, drives initiatives that make healthier food options available in all neighborhoods, and provides children with more opportunities to be active in school. 

“We are so grateful to have Christian Merritt join our Leaders of Impact campaign,” Capital Region Executive Director Marsha Jackson said. “Together, we can fund lifesaving research and education, CPR training, healthy living, access to quality medical care, provide equipment to local clinics, and more.”

F&M Trust will host a Denim Day on November 15, the final day of the campaign, for employees who contributed to the fundraising effort. The bank will also offer on-site CPR classes for employees through the AHA. Two sessions will be held at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Chambersburg and one at its regional headquarters in Harrisburg, affording as many as 120 employees the opportunity to learn how to properly administer CPR.

More information about the Leaders of Impact Capital Region program can be found at https://www2.heart.org/site/TR/?fr_id=7992&pg=entry.

About F&M Trust: A subsidiary of Franklin Financial Services Corp., F&M Trust is an independent community bank headquartered in Chambersburg. With approximately $1.8 billion in assets, F&M Trust has 22 community-banking locations in Franklin, Cumberland, Fulton, and Huntingdon counties in Pennsylvania, and in Washington County, Maryland. Please visit fmtrust.bank for more information.

Christian Merritt, F&M Trust Vice President and Investment & Trust Services Market Manager for Cumberland County and the Capital Region, presents a check for $5,000 to Marsha Jackson, Executive Director of the American Heart Association, Capital Region, and Kristie Davis, Development Director of the American Heart Association, Capital Region.