RENTON, Wash., July 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Financial Northwest, Inc. (“Company”) (NASDAQ:FFNW) today announced that its subsidiary financial institution, First Financial Northwest Bank (FFNWB) was presented with the Washington Bankers Association (WBA) 2016 Financial Literacy Award and the 2016 Innovation Award.
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At its most recent annual convention on June 25, 2016, the Washington Bankers Association presented its Financial Literacy Awards to recognize the local banking industry’s efforts in financial literacy education and the service that WBA members provide to their customers and communities.
The Financial Literacy Award was presented to First Financial Northwest Bank. This award honors member banks for providing a valuable service to their community. FFNWB was recognized for the work that the Bank has done in collaboration with education technology innovator EverFi. The program provides seven high schools in the Renton/Tukwila area with software that uses video animations, 3D gaming and avatars to help students learn about financial literacy. Roughly 20 employee volunteers contributed to the effort, which reached over 520 students.
WBA’s Financial Literacy Innovation Award, highlighting a new and innovative program, was awarded to First Financial Northwest Bank in recognition of its partnership with Renton High School (RHS) and its football program.
This financial education effort launched in 2015, when the Bank led six presentations on key issues in financial literacy for the Renton High School football team, on Friday afternoons prior to home games. Over 40 employees volunteered to teach the team’s approximately 50 football players about personal finance topics ranging from checking accounts to credit scores and loans. The sessions also included a pre-game meal for players—an immediate and sorely needed form of support in a district where 69% of students receive free or reduced-cost lunches.
Last year, RHS’s head football coach Tim Tramp contacted FFNWB’s President and CEO, Joe Kiley, about providing some kind of backing for the RHS football players. Coach Tramp espouses a philosophy that uses football to teach lifelong skills, and as they started discussing what the community bank could do for the team, they realized they had an opportunity to make a more lasting impact on the students’ lives by building this innovative program.
The Bank’s employees have responded enthusiastically again this year, filling up nearly every available volunteer slot for the sessions—ten slots per class—which will resume in the fall term.
First Financial Northwest Bank is a Washington chartered commercial bank headquartered in Renton, Washington, serving the Puget Sound Region through its full-service banking offices in Mill Creek, Edmonds, and coming soon to the Landing in Renton. Its parent company is First Financial Northwest, Inc. For additional information, please visit the Bank’s website at www.ffnwb.com and click on the “Investor Relations” section.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains statements that the Company believes are “forward-looking statements.” These statements relate to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance or business. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, as they are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and performance in future periods may be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified in our risk factors contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in the Company’s expectations of results or any change in events.