Mechanics donates to Teach For America

By Rebecca Keister
PBN Staff Writer

FALL RIVER – Mechanics Cooperative Bank has announced it is donating $5,000 to support the Teach For America program in the Fall River public system directly to benefit the work of seventh-grade science teacher Stephen Kennedy’s class at Talbot Innovation Middle School.

“Our support of Teach For America is directly tied to our philosophy of ‘let’s keep it local,’” said Joseph Baptista Jr., president and CEO of Mechanics Cooperative Bank, in a statement. “We feel this sponsorship is another example of how Mechanics Cooperative Bank is proactively investing in the future of our local community.”

Kennedy joined Teach For America and the Fall River school system in 2011. He serves on his school’s School Leadership Committee responsible for developing proposals and grant applications.

Teach For America welcomed its second cohort of teachers to Fall River in fall 2012. There are 30 corps members now teaching in the South Coast region including in eight Fall River public schools.