Tag: Bank of America

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United Housing Awarded $50,000 from Bank of America

Amy Schaftlein, executive director for United Housing, holds their award

Through Bank of America’s Neighborhood Champion program, United Housing has received a grant for $50,000 as well as an opportunity for its staff to undergo virtual leadership training. The Neighborhood Champion program gives recognition to nonprofits that play a role in advancing economic mobility. Due to the program, Bank of America is the largest corporate philanthropic investment in nonprofit leadership in the country. Bank of America Memphis Market President, Livingston Albritten, released a statement.

“As we consider many of the challenges that our communities are facing – from the health and humanitarian crisis brought on by the coronavirus to the need for progress on racial equality and economic opportunity – the Neighborhood Champions program is a relevant and timely initiative to support the communities we serve,” said Albritten. “This program enables partners like United Housing to plan strategically for growth and long-term sustainability, and we look forward to seeing how this investment helps United Housing make even greater strides to address homebuyer education and assistance in the Memphis area.”

 United Housing is known throughout the city for helping Memphians through the homeownership process. United housing is nationally recognized for its efforts in providing curriculum, homebuilding, and neighborhood revitalization and rehabilitation. Using a holistic approach the non-profit accurately helps Memphians on a case by case basis. Amy Schaftlein, executive director for United Housing, said that being chosen doesn’t distract them from their mission on hand.

“Our goal will be to keep people safely housed and working on preserving homeownership and neighborhood stability next year, which will be critical for many families,” said Schaftlein. “We are humbled to be recognized by Bank of America for this mission and we are eager to get to work meeting essential housing needs in Memphis.”

United Housing will use funds from the grant to provide further education and revitalization to members and member neighborhoods in their organization.

“Funds from the grant will support United Housing’s homebuyer education and minor home repair programs as the economic impacts of the pandemic have increased demand for these critical services,” said Schaftlein. “This opportunity will allow the organization to expand mortgage and rental assistance counseling services, while expanding the ability for aspiring homebuyers to get closer to their goals in uncertain economic environment.”

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News The Fly-By

Fly on the Wall 1341

Neverending Cash

It’s been a long time since country music fans have been treated to music news that includes the line, “Cash will be released when sober.” But they say history repeats. They also say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Johnny Cash’s son, John Carter Cash, was arrested in Deer Lake, Newfoundland last week for stripping down to his underwear in the airport. Thankfully nobody was struck blind and security successfully convinced the pasty, 44-year-old country singer to put his clothes back on. Nobody pressed charges, and so far, there’s still no word as to whether or not this life-altering event will result in a song called “Monday Pants Coming Down,” “The Man in White (Cotton Briefs),” or “Newfoundland Drunk Tank Blues.”

He Got Game

Justin Lee Seay, 21, of Memphis executed a strange plan to avoid being taken into custody by Murfreesboro police for felony marijuana possession. Last week, he told officers that he wasn’t just any old pothead but none other than 59-year-old Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington. Unfortunately, being Denzel Washington doesn’t provide any kind of diplomatic immunity, and even if it did, nobody was buying the story.

Broke Dancer

Ed Smith, a 54-year-old former Memphian, became a viral video star last week when he visited a Bank of America branch to make his final $10,000 alimony payment. Smith said he was so happy he was going to breakdance. It looked more like a terrible seizure, but no ambulance was called.

BullS#!t

Al Green’s got cattle issues. One of the singer’s bulls is tired of being alone. It doesn’t want to stay together and has once again jumped the fence to go wandering in Shelby Forest, just as several of Green’s bulls did in the fall of 2011. According to WMC-TV’s report, a “bucket of greens” had been set out in hopes that it might tempt the animal to come back home.

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News The Fly-By

Cooper-Young Bank of America To Close in February

CREDIT: Chris Shaw

The tiny Bank of America at the iconic Cooper and Young intersection is getting ready to make a withdrawal from the neighborhood.

In a letter sent to customers last week, Bank of America stated that the bank will be closing on Friday, February 20th. The bank says the planned closure is mainly due to a change in banking habits by the account holders in the area, as more and more customers do the majority of their banking online or through mobile apps.

“We look at our banking centers and ATM networks and see how people are using our banking services, and when that information is determined, sometimes it means that we close a banking center,” Bank of America spokesperson Matthew Daily said.

Daily said that there are no plans to open another Bank of America in Cooper-Young or any area nearby, but that the ATM at that location will stay in place for about a year.

“In this particular case, we have an overlap with a branch a mile and half away [at Union Extended and Poplar], and we saw that the customer’s needs in this area are changing. Generally, we saw a decline in transactions and an increase in people using online banking and mobile banking,” Daily said.

Chris Shaw

Cooper-Young Bank of America

While individual customers may have changed the way they bank, some locally owned businesses in Cooper-Young rely on that Bank of America location for their daily banking needs. Cooper-Young Business Association Director Tamara Walker said the association will push for another bank to open there after the Bank of America closes.

“We would definitely push for another bank rather than another business,” Walker said. “Since 1989, there’s been a bank there. Boatmen’s [Bank] came in 1989, and they lent to a lot of the businesses that were opening during that time, which helped make the neighborhood what it is today.”

Burkes Books co-owner Cheryl Mesler said that having a bank so close to her business was one of the reasons they chose their current location on Cooper.

“When we moved over here seven years ago, we switched everything over to Bank of America, honestly just for the convenience,” Mesler said. “Not having to get in my car and drive to the bank was a huge help, especially because there are a lot of times when there’s only two of us in the store. Going to the bank on Union Extended would turn into a 20-minute trip instead of a 10-minute one, so if a new bank comes in, I can’t say that I wouldn’t switch all of our accounts over to them.”

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News The Fly-By

The Cheat Sheet

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

After a Local Bank of America noticed it was missing more than $850,000, it discovers the culprit is one of its own employees. Agents soon pick up the vault operations manager while she is “on vacation” in Florida. Probably a pretty long vacation at that. Just one question: We know accommodations around DisneyWorld are expensive, but with 850 grand, was the Gator Motel outside Orlando the best she could do?

Let’s see if we got this straight: Gale Jones Carson, the former aide to Mayor Willie Herenton, has returned to work at Memphis Light, Gas & Water. But because she previously worked at MLGW for six years, and then worked for the mayor for six years, she met the 12-year requirement to collect a generous city pension — even though she is still employed? Okay, this is Memphis government, after all, so now it makes perfect sense.

Convicted of drug charges in Miami, a man named Felix Ortiz evades the law for some 31 years, living the last 10 of them in Memphis — under the name of Felix Ortiz-Pulley. We can see how such a clever subterfuge would stump the nation’s best detectives.

Black Snake Moan Greg Cravens

premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Controversy erupts — sort of — over the description of Christina Ricci’s character as a “nymphomaniac.” Nobody has any problem, it seems, with the film’s promotional posters that show her half-naked and in chains.