Patriots Bank Goes Pink to Fight Breast Cancer

Breast cancer awareness is a cause that’s close to the hearts of current and former staff at $250 million-asset Patriots Bank in Garnett, Kansas. After several staff members received breast cancer diagnoses, Michelle Hermreck, a former teller who spent 18 years at Patriots Bank, cofounded the Women In Need Gaining Strength (WINGS) Foundation in 2008. The foundation, long supported by Patriots Bank, is dedicated to supporting women who are fighting breast cancer.

“My sister had breast cancer, and then I had breast cancer,” says Hermreck. “It was her great idea to start an organization to try to help and give back. We’re still going strong.”

The WINGS Foundation, formed on the premise that women shouldn’t have to battle cancer on their own, aims to provide both financial and emotional support. Through fundraisers, partnerships and more, the foundation helps cover the cost of mammograms, office visits, gas cards and other essentials. 

“We are partnered with Anderson County Hospital [and Saint Luke’s], and so they bill us directly,” Hermreck says. “The patient never, ever gets a bill if it’s WINGS.”

“[Patriots Bank] could choose someone else, but we’re pretty grateful that they have chosen to stick with us and partner with us.”

—Michelle Hermreck, WINGS Foundation

From shirts to cards

Since 2008, Patriots Bank has run a “WINGS Wednesdays” fundraiser every October to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Employees can donate $2 to wear jeans to work—paired with pink or WINGS T-shirts—to raise funds for and awareness of the foundation. 

“By caring and showing support to the community for something like that, that shows how we support our employees as well,” says Carston D. Cooper, executive vice president of Patriots Bank.

In 2014, the community bank wanted to offer further support for the foundation, so it released a special pink debit card featuring the WINGS branding. 

Customers are given the option of choosing the card when they open a new checking account or can convert existing accounts at no additional cost. Every time someone swipes their card, a portion of the revenue goes to the foundation. According to Cooper, there are just over 2,500 WINGS debit cards in circulation.

Patriots Bank also makes an annual donation based on the amount of use the WINGS card gets, with the donation ranging between $1,500 and $2,500 each year. In total, Cooper estimates the bank has donated more than $20,000 through card use alone.

“I know it sounds funny as a bank going, ‘Yeah, get more people to transition to something you’re giving away money on,’ but we like doing it. It’s good outreach, and that’s what the community is about,” Cooper says. “People always like knowing what you’re doing in the community and like knowing that you’re putting in effort.”

Cooper uses his own WINGS card in his daily life and has had multiple people ask what it is and how they can get one. Many people have switched over because they know it’s for a good cause, he says. He considers the card a symbol of how easy it can be to help others.

“Our future goals would be to, obviously, grow the program so we can get more to the foundation, because they do a lot,” Cooper says, adding that eventually he’d like the bank to donate at least $5,000 or $10,000 per year.

Hermreck says the WINGS Foundation was both surprised and honored when Patriots Bank first proposed the debit card idea. “They could choose someone else,” she says, “but we’re pretty grateful that they have chosen to stick with us and partner with us.”

A lasting legacy

The founder and former chairman of Patriots Bank, Jim Cooper, who is also Carston D. Cooper’s grandfather, was a staunch advocate of the foundation. He was always coming up with ways to increase outreach and proudly presented the bank’s donation to the foundation each year. Earlier this year, he faced a breast cancer diagnosis himself and sadly died in June. Even while facing his diagnosis, he was still working with the bank and advocating for the foundation.

“We are truly honored to stand beside the WINGS Foundation and help fund their essential programs through this initiative,” Jim Cooper said in a statement before he died. “We also believe we are the only community bank that offers this type of service, and since it is something we consider very near and dear to our hearts, we wanted to share it with all the local communities in hopes that we can get as many people involved to raise awareness as possible.”

Carston D. Cooper says Patriots Bank’s current goals for the foundation have expanded so they can honor Jim Cooper’s legacy. 

“We continue to hold … his values,” he says. “The golden rule is always treat people how you want to be treated. We always try to treat people with respect and kindness. That’s how we treat our employees, and I think that’s been the key to our success.”