October 5th, 2026 marks the start of First Western Bank’s 8th Annual Volunteer Days – a workweek-long spree of service to local charities, non-profits, and other community organizations.
“We’re a community bank in full,” said David Thompson, market president of First Western Bank’s Eden Prairie branch. “With 19 locations in the Midwest and another in Arizona, we are hardly the smallest bank in the country – though I readily admit we’re pretty far from being the largest, too. That’s why we’re all the more beholden to the communities we have the privilege of serving. Their success ultimately determines our own, and we root for them even harder in light of the fact that we reside in them ourselves.”
“Collectively, the First Western Bank staff donates over 1,000 hours of our time to worthy causes during Volunteer Days,” said Leslie Kewatt, loan operations. “Our team here in Eden Prairie is especially excited for the organizations we’ll volunteer with this coming week. They all do a whole lot of good in our neighborhood, and many of our team members already have strong personal connections to their missions.”
This Year’s Volunteership
Meals on Wheels - “We’ll spend good time with Meals on Wheels, decorating brown paper bags for dry goods deliveries,” Leslie continued. “It’s not world changing, we know, but it shows our housebound neighbors that we care and are thinking about them. The smallest acts of kindness add up to something big!”
Minneapolis Children’s Hospital - “We’re going to donate our considerable skill at tying fleece blankets together,” said David. “Blankets aren’t transferable between patients, for reasons you don’t have to be a virologist to understand, which means the hospital can never have too many on hand. All the better, because making blankets is almost as fun as banking.”
PROP - “First Western Bank is hosting a donation drive throughout the duration of Volunteer Days: October 5th through 9th,” said Leslie. “This year we’re collecting cleaning and hygiene items for PROP, an Eden Prairie non-profit that currently provides basic needs for around 1,200 local families. Stop by 100 Prairie Center Drive, Eden Prairie 8am through 5pm to contribute!”
“We regularly volunteer outside of Volunteer Days as well,” said David. “We recently welcomed Helping Paws to our branch with a class of assistance dogs in training. They used the experience to accustom themselves to following commands in unfamiliar surroundings (and steal our hearts).”
“We also just volunteered at VEAP,” added Leslie. “The Twin Cities’ largest food pantry has us assist people with shopping, as well as separate bulk items into smaller bags for distribution. Last year we repackaged one ton of potatoes!”
“First Western Bank was established in 1964 as a community bank,” said David. “A lot has changed since then, but we remain no less committed to our foundational ideal. That usually takes the form of serving our neighbors for all their personal banking, business banking, and lending needs. But on this special week, we’re grateful to get out there and give freely to those who need help the most.”
“Every human connection counts to our team,” added Leslie. “Even though we’ll never meet the children who’ll receive those blankets, or the people who’ll fry those potatoes, we’re satisfied knowing we helped make their lives better in some small yet significant way.” FirstWestern.bank