TD Banknorth Donates $5,000 to Maine Housing and Building Materials Exchange (BME)

Agency helps low-income Maine families protect and preserve their homes

TD Banknorth, through the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation, has donated $5,000 to the Maine Housing and Building Materials Exchange (BME), a non-profit organization that provides new and re-usable building materials to low-income households through out Maine, building homeowner equity.

The grant will assist the Lisbon-based organization with its transition into a new retail warehouse on Route 196 in Lisbon. The warehouse opened in December and is now ready for all clients and customers.

The BME’s mission is to help low income families preserve and protect their homes, thereby building equity for the future in their largest single investment. Families who qualify join the organization for a $10 annual fee and can shop at one of the organization’s two locations in Lisbon and Sanford. In the past two years, the organization has helped more than 5,000 homeowners.
“BME is a great organization because it provides steep discounts on building materials to Maine families so they can make their homes safe, warm and weathertight,” said Julie McQuillan, Public Affairs Manager at TD Banknorth in Maine. “We are pleased to be a part of this effort.”

The Lisbon warehouse has allowed BME to expand access to low-income homeowners in western and central Maine as well as double its warehouse capacity.

“This is an exciting time at BME and we appreciate TD Banknorth’s generosity,” said David Zimmerman, the Executive Director of Maine Housing and Building Materials Exchange. “With this new warehouse, we are going to be able to reach even more Maine families and help them protect and preserve the value of their homes.”

The TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Banknorth Inc., a leading banking and financial services company headquartered in Portland, Maine. The Foundation’s mission is to serve the individuals, families and businesses in all the communities where TD Banknorth operates, having made over $22 million in charitable donations since its inception in 2002. The efforts of the Foundation are coordinated locally through TD Banknorth’s community relations departments and are focused on the areas of economic empowerment, youth development and community support. More information on the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation is available at www.TDBanknorth.com.

In Maine, TD Banknorth operates more than 55 branches and more than 90 ATMs. It is the state’s largest bank and provides more than 207,000 Maine households with a full line of retail banking products and services including commercial and consumer products, trust and investment services, commercial and personal insurance and residential mortgages. The branches of TD Banknorth have served their customers and communities in Maine for more than 100 years and are recognized for a commitment to personalized service, long-term customer relationships, local decision-making, and community involvement. For more information visit www.TDBanknorth.com.

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Photo ID: David Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Maine Housing & Building Materials Exchange (BME) receives a $5,000 donation from Kimberly Twitchell, a Senior Vice President in Commercial Lending at TD Banknorth.