TD Banknorth Awards $25,000 in Scholarships to 10 Maine High School Students

Shining the Light for Maine Youth program

Ten Maine high school 2005 graduates were awarded $2,500 each by TD Banknorth, formerly Peoples Heritage Bank, as part of the bank’s annual scholarship program to reward Maine students and help offset their higher education costs.

Senior students receiving the $2,500 scholarships were: Benjamin D. Barker of Topsham, Mt. Ararat High School; Erin M. Beasley of LaGrange, Penquis Valley High School; John R. Chisholm of Freeport, Freeport High School; Samuel S. Dyar of Strong, Mt. Abram High School; Charles K. Howes of Oxford, Oxford Hills High School; Danica A. Koenig of Hallowell, Hall-Dale High School; Benjamin J. Lofton of Jay, Maine School of Science & Math; Gina M. Luchini of Ellsworth, Ellsworth High School; Nicole M. Stevens of Falmouth, Falmouth High School; and Michael M. Whiston of Kennebunkport, Kennebunk High School.

Scholarship recipients also are offered an optional three-month paid internship position with TD Banknorth after their first year of post-secondary education.

TD Banknorth has pledged $250,000 for a 10-year scholarship fund to help young people in Maine attain marketable skills through education. The scholarships are being administered by the MES Foundation. This is the seventh year for the program.

“We are committed to expanding the opportunities available to Maine youth, and assisting them with the ever-increasing cost of education is one way to accomplish that,” said Michael W. McNamara, president of TD Banknorth, Maine. “Post-secondary education for students is vital to Maine’s continued economic development. Our scholarship program is a way in which we can help facilitate college enrollment.”

The scholarship program is part of TD Banknorth’s ‘Shining the Light for Maine Youth’ program, which helps provide Maine’s young people with access to the fundamental resources needed to lead healthy, happy lives. The program, which has been recognized nationally by the America’s Promise Program as a significant “promise-maker,” also includes a school outreach program in which TD Banknorth employees volunteer more than 400 hours in classrooms throughout the year to teach more than 1,000 sixth graders about economic concepts.

Other TD Banknorth-sponsored programs helping Maine youth include TD Banknorth Strike Out Cancer in Kids, benefiting the Maine Children’s Cancer program; and the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon, an internationally acclaimed 10K road race which benefits a different children’s charity in Maine each year. This year’s beneficiary is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland and Auburn/Lewiston.

TD Banknorth, N.A., operates 60 branches and 89 ATMs in Maine. TD Banknorth, N.A., is the banking subsidiary of TD Banknorth Inc. (NYSE: BNK), a leading banking and financial services company headquartered in Portland, Maine, with a network of more than 390 branches and 550 ATMs. Prior to May 23, 2005, TD Banknorth was known in the state as Peoples Heritage Bank. In Maine, TD Banknorth is based in Portland, and is the state’s largest bank. Visit online at www.tdbanknorth.com.

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