About 50 Associated colleagues recently took to the lanes for another successful JA bigBowl fundraiser to support Junior Achievement (JA) of the Upper Midwest.

This is the sixth consecutive year Associated and JA have partnered to conduct the fundraising event, which took place across the Twin Cities and at other JA regional locations. In 2014, Associated colleagues provided nearly 5,000 hours of volunteer community service in Minnesota, including over 50 hours to Junior Achievement.

“Associated Bank has long supported financial education to benefit the communities where we live, work and conduct business,” said Pat Richard, Associated Bank’s regional sales manager. “It’s clear that students who have the benefit of Junior Achievement are better prepared and more motivated to succeed.”

This year, Associated is working with JA organizations to implement a focused financial education initiative across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Photo caption: Pat Richard, Associated Regional Sales Manager, presents a $17,500 check to Ryan Stauff, JA Vice President of Corporate Development (in bowling ball costume). They are surrounded by approximately 50 Associated colleagues who participated in the bigBowl event and raised $7,500 of the total.