2023 Race 2 Raise 5K
Our annual 5K fundraiser was Saturday, May 13, 2023. It was a rainy morning with scattered storms, so we watched the radar carefully, several times wondering if we should cancel the event. But as we reached start time, the skies were clear from lightning and the event was on! 0ut of 151 registered participants, 86 braved the rain and completed the 5K. Afterwards we were able to get out of the rain by having the awards ceremony under the grandstand at German Park. Medals were awarded to the top 3 male and top 3 female finishers in age group. After the 5K many gathered at the B&L Bar to redeem their bib number for one free beverage. It was a nice way to celebrate their accomplishment, and dry off!
This year we were able to raise $3,328.85 for the American Cancer Society!
Save the date for next year: May 11, 2024!
Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees donate over $3800.00 worth of gifts to area families and organizations in need.
Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees were excited to help organizations and families in need this Holiday Season. Our Main Office in New Ulm partnered with Brown County Family Services through their “Adopt a Family” program to help an area family by purchasing clothing, hats and mittens, a grocery card and household items. Our Watkins, La Salle and Ormsby locations were able to purchase needed items to assist six families. Our Lafayette branch donated funds to Santa’s Closet and our Lakeville branch participated as a Toys for Tots drop-off site.
Money was donated by employees, raised through a variety of internal fundraising events throughout our locations, and a bank match was given making it possible to donate over $3800.00 in gifts and necessities for these families and organizations.
We were happy to help these organizations as well as families who would have had an otherwise difficult time purchasing the needed items themselves. It was also a great way to remember what the Holidays are truly all about!
2022 Citizens Race 2 Raise 5K
Citizens held their 7th annual Race 2 Raise 5K on Saturday, May 14, 2022. 164 people registered and the event brought in $3016.30 for the American Cancer Society!
We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was a beautiful morning to run and walk the city streets and bike trail in New Ulm. At the finish line, participants could enjoy the post-race amenities and watch the award ceremony where the top 3 male and female finishers in age groups received a medal. After the event everyone could redeem their paper bib number for a free beverage at the B&L after party. Congratulations to everyone that participated and we hope to see you all back at next years' 5K, which is being held on Saturday, May 13, 2023!

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Citizens Partners With American Red Cross

Citizens Bank Minnesota hosted an employee blood drive with the American Red Cross on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, in their New Ulm Training Room. Citizens employees collected 27 units of blood, exceeding their goal of 25!
Citizens is committed to strengthening our community and helping meet hospital and patient needs through blood donations. This blood drive was a way to give our staff an opportunity to help save lives.
Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those with types O negative, B negative, and A negative. According to the Red Cross, type O negative is the universal blood type that can be safely transfused to anyone, and is often used to treat trauma patients. Simply go to redcrossblood.org to find a community blood drive near you!
2021 Adopt-A-Family
Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees donated over $3800.00 worth of gifts to area families and organizations in need.
Citizens and its employees were excited to help organizations and families in need this Holiday Season. Our Main Office in New Ulm partnered with Brown County Family Services through their “Adopt a Family” program to help an area family by purchasing clothing, hats and mittens, a grocery card and household items. Our Watkins Branch was able to purchase toys, clothing, hats and gloves, plus a grocery card to help a family in their area. Our Lafayette Branch donated funds to the Lafayette Charter School along with the Sibley East Adopt A Family Program. Our La Salle Branch received the name of a family through Madelia school and was able to purchase gift cards and games. Our Lakeville Branch received the name of a family from a local church and partnered with their upstairs tenant, David Charlez Designs, to purchase gift cards for the family. Lastly, our Ormsby Branch adopted a family through Martin County West School District and they were able to purchase clothing, toys, mittens and hats.
Money was donated by employees, raised through a variety of internal fundraising events throughout our locations, and a bank match was given making it possible to donate over $3800.00 in gifts and necessities for these families and organizations.
We were happy to help these organizations as well as families who would have had an otherwise difficult time purchasing the needed items themselves. It was also a great way to remember what the Holidays are truly all about!
2021 Community Impact Month
Citizens Bank Minnesota employees spent the month of September carrying out several Random Acts of Kindness (RAK’s) in the communities they serve. Citizens donated $750 for 15 teams to spread kindness in a creative way! Many employees also contributed towards their RAK’s.
Our teams worked together in so many ways by donating blood together, delivering snacks to local hospitals, gift card giveaways at local gas stations, grilling lunch for local law enforcement officers, delivering food for first responders, picking up trash at a park, unpacking and sorting snacks for Project Lunch Box, blessing families in need with freezer meals and delivering snacks in appreciation of our schools and bus drivers!
This effort was in conjunction with the Minnesota Bankers Association’s Community Impact Month. Across the state, 88 banks and over 342 branches joined forces in September to serve 243 distinct cities. Launched by the Minnesota Bankers Association, the Community Impact Month creates an opportunity for banks to highlight the many volunteer opportunities available to help build stronger local communities. Citizens and their employees were proud to be a part of this effort! #BanksBuildMN

Citizens Bank Minnesota Employees Donate over $7,000.00 to Area Nonprofits
Citizens Bank Minnesota employees recently donated $7,074.74 to area nonprofits. Each year the employees choose who will receive the funds for that particular year. The funds are raised through Citizens Jeans for Change where employees can pay $5.00 every Friday to wear jeans to work, as well as various employee fundraisers throughout the year including the Race to Raise 5K, which had 139 registered participants and raised $2,641.74 for the American Cancer Society. Other proceeds were split and given to B the Light, Adaptive Recreational Services (ARS), Compassionate Friends, the Sertoma Club, the Jaycees, and the Nicholas P. Koenig HERO (Help & Encouragement on Rough Oceans) Foundation. The foundation provides a shining light of hope on families affected by pediatric cancer, with support of health-related research, education, and care.
2021 Race 2 Raise 5K

The 6th annual
Citizens Bank Minnesota Race 2 Raise 5K was held on Saturday, May 15, 2021. We couldn't have asked for a better day, the temps were perfect for a morning run/walk! It was great to be able to host an in-person event again, and we think our participants all agreed. 139 people registered for the event with 121 participating that morning. Our 5K was professionally chip-timed with awards going to the top 3 males and top 3 females in different age groups.
With all proceeds from the event going to the American Cancer Society, we were able to raise $2,641.74!
Thank you to all that participated, our volunteers and sponsors. We look forward to hosting this event again next year, Saturday, May 14, 2022!

Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees
donate $3,000.00 worth of gifts to area families in need

Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees were excited to help organizations and families in need this Holiday Season. Our Main Office in New Ulm partnered with Brown County Family Services through their “Adopt a Family” program to help an area family in need by purchasing gifts and other items they needed.
Our Watkins Branch was able to help purchase gifts to help a family in their area. Our Lafayette Branch was able to purchase gift cards for teachers at the Lafayette Charter School as well as donate snacks to the workers at the Good Samaritan Center and The Lodge in Winthrop. Our La Salle Branch was able to purchase gift cards for 5 elderly individuals in need. Our Lakeville Branch partnered with their upstairs tenant, David Charlez Design to raise money for 360 Communities.
Money was donated by employees, raised through a variety of internal fundraising events throughout our locations, and a bank match was given making it possible to donate $3000.00 in gifts for these families and organizations.
We were happy to help these organizations as well as families who would have had an otherwise difficult time purchasing the needed items themselves. It was also a great way to remember what the Holidays are truly all about!
Citizens Participates in Community Impact Month
Citizens Bank Minnesota collected PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as well as accepted monetary donations to purchase PPE for area schools in an effort to “Stop the Spread” of Covid-19 and help keep teachers, students and school staff safe this school year. Citizens raised $1178 along with donated items including cloth masks for both adults and children, face shields, paper towels, hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes.
This effort was in conjunction with the Minnesota Bankers Association's Community Impact Month. Across the state, 91 banks and over 498 branches joined forces in September to serve their local communities. Launched by the Minnesota Bankers Association, the Community Impact Month creates an opportunity for banks to highlight the many volunteer opportunities available to help build stronger local communities. Citizens and their employees were proud to be a part of this effort and we thank everyone who donated at all of our locations! #BanksBuildMN
Citizens Delivers Snack Care Packages To Local Hospitals
Citizens employees delivered totes with a variety of snacks and packages of sports drinks to the New Ulm Medical Center, Sleepy Eye Medical Center and the Madelia Community Hospital and Clinic, as a way to say "Thank You" to our essential frontline workers! We appreciate everything they do in keeping us safe every day.
Citizens delivers loads of snacks to 4 area organizations
Did you know approximately 13 million American children are at risk of hunger? Because of this, Citizens Bank Minnesota chose to collect snacks for children in need in the area for their community snack backpack programs. These snack backpack programs help ensure students in need have access to healthy meals during the weekend and return to school ready to learn.
This effort was in conjunction with the Minnesota Bankers Association’s Community Impact Month. Across the state, 94 banks and over 458 branches will join forces in September to serve their local communities. Citizens employees were able to raise $715, which employees used to shop for snacks to donate to four area organizations. Several boxes of snacks were donated by employees and community supporters as well! The organizations donated to include: United Way of Brown County Project Lunch Box, Watonwan County Backpack Program, Lafayette Charter School Food Backpack Program and Kenwood Trail Middle School Snack Pack Program in Lakeville.
Launched by the Minnesota Bankers Association, the Community Impact Month creates an opportunity for banks to highlight the many volunteer opportunities available to help build stronger local communities. Citizens and their employees were proud to be a part of this effort and we thank everyone who donated at all of our locations! #BanksBuildMN

Citizens Bank Minnesota Donates over $2,100.00 to Area Nonprofits
Citizens Bank Minnesota recently donated $818.00 to CADA (Committee Against Domestic Abuse) and $1287.00 to Virginia Piper Cancer Center of New Ulm. The funds were raised through Citizens Jeans for Change where employees pay $5.00 the first Friday of every month to wear jeans to work, and employee potlucks throughout the year. The proceeds are then given to area non-profits. CADA is a nonprofit victim advocacy and emergency shelter organization and Virginia Piper Cancer Center provides outpatient care that is individually tailored and convenient for patients.
CADA
Pictured from left to right: Lou Geistfeld, President/CEO of Citizens, Stacy Merkel, AVP/Auditor of Citizens, Ra’e Holm, CADA, Sara Neidecker-Schoo, CADA, Denise Fischer, Insurance Agent of Citizens Agency, and Mark Denn, Executive Vice President of Citizens.
Virginia Piper
Pictured from left to right: Lou Geistfeld, President/CEO of Citizens, Lynn Fink, AVP/Compliance Officer of Citizens Sarah Schauer, NUMC Foundation, Vicky Beltz, Assistant Manager Oncology, Kay Meinzer, Personal Banker, Citizens, and Mark Denn, Executive Vice President of Citizens.
Citizens donates to Turner Hall
Citizens Bank Minnesota recently donated $15,000.00 to the Turner Hall Capital Campaign. Turner Hall has a goal of raising $600,000.00 and they are halfway through their three-year campaign. Funds will be used towards their recent kitchen remodel and sewer line renovations. Turner Hall also has plans for a second phase of paving the back parking lot in the near future.
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Pictured: Lou Geistfeld, President of Citizens Bank Minnesota, Terry Sveine, Turner Hall Board Member, Yvonne Weber, Turner Hall Board Member, Andrea Boettger, Executive Director for Turner Hall, Sarah Sveine, Events and Marketing Coordinator for Turner Hall, David Steinberg, Turner Hall Board Member, and Mark Denn, Executive Vice President of Citizens Bank Minnesota.
2019 Citizens Race 2 Raise 5K
Citizens Bank Minnesota held their 5th annual Race 2 Raise 5K on Saturday, May 18, 2019. This was a running/walking event that started in the New Ulm

bank parking lot and utilized streets and the bike trail system, finishing at German Park. The 5K was professionally chip-timed with medals being awarded to the top 3 males and top 3 females in seven different age groups. Despite the threat of storms and cooler temps, the rain stayed away and we had 119 participants there that morning, raising $2,824.15 for the American Cancer Society! We hope to see YOU at the starting line in 2020!
2019 Citizens Craft Retreat
Citizens Bank Minnesota recently donated $800.00 to the Southern Minnesota Crisis Nursery. The funds were raised through the
Citizens 4
Citizens Craft Retreat

held on March 15 & 16, 2019. The retreat was started in 2012 with the idea that the event would provide participants with time to work on projects of their choice without the distractions of home. The proceeds are then given to area non-profits. The Southern Minnesota Crisis Nursery is a 24-hour home that exists to provide a temporary, safe and loving environment for children while supporting and strengthening families experiencing a stressful situation.
Pictured from left to right:
Lou Geistfeld, President/CEO of Citizens, Stacy Merkel, AVP/Auditor of Citizens, Melanie Mohror, Southern MN Crisis Nursery Board Vice Chair, Lynn Fink, AVP/Compliance Officer of Citizens, and Mark Denn, Executive Vice President of Citizens.
Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees
donate $3,000.00 worth of gifts to seven families in need.
Citizens Bank Minnesota and its employees were excited to help seven families in need this Holiday Season. Our main office in New Ulm as well as our three branch locations in Lafayette, La Salle and Lakeville each adopted area families in need. Money was donated by employees, raised through a variety of internal fundraising events throughout our four locations, and a bank match was given making it possible to donate $3,000.00 in gifts for these families.
We were happy to help these families who would have had an otherwise difficult time purchasing the needed items themselves. It was also a great way to remember what the Holidays are truly all about!
Citizens Delivers 107 Blankets to Six Area Organizations
September 17-21, 2018 was Minnesota Bankers Association’s Community Impact Week, in which
Citizens Bank Minnesota was a proud participant.

Across the state, 86 banks and over 259 branches joined forces to serve their local communities. Citizens chose to collect blanket and fleece donations to create comfort for those in need. Citizens employees were able to create 107 fleece tie blankets to give to six area organizations. Those organizations include New Ulm Virginia Piper Cancer Center, NUMAS Haus, the foster care system of Watonwan County Human Services, Mayo Clinic of St. James, Madelia City Hall to be used by police, rescue and fire, and 360 Communities in Lakeville.
Launched by the Minnesota Bankers Association, the Community Impact Week creates an opportunity for banks to highlight the many volunteer opportunities available to help build stronger local communities. Citizens and their employees were proud to be a part of this effort and we thank everyone who donated at all of our locations!
Citizens Race 2 Raise 5K - 2018
Citizens Bank Minnesota held their 4th Annual Race 2 Raise 5K fundraiser on Saturday, May 19, 2018. 160 participants came to run and walk the 5K

route on that chilly morning! The route started at
Citizens, continued south on Minnesota Street to 16th South, then back along the bike trail, ending at German Park. The 5K was professionally chip-timed, and there were medals awarded to the top 3 males and top 3 females in seven different age brackets.
The 2018 Race 2 Raise 5K raised $3,048.22 for the American Cancer Society! Citizens looks forward to the event growing even more in 2019.
Citizens Donates Over $900 to NUMAS Haus
Citizens Bank Minnesota recently donated over $900.00 to the NUMAS Haus. The funds were raised through the Citizens 4 Citizens Craft Retreat held on February 23 & 24, 2018 at the St. George Parish Center. The retreat started in 2012 with the idea that the event would provide participants with time to work on projects of their choice without the distractions of home. The proceeds from the event are then given to area non-profits. The NUMAS Haus provides emergency shelter and support services to homeless, single-mother families with school age children from the New Ulm area.
Pictured are: Karla Diehn, NUMAS Haus, Lynn Fink, Compliance Officer, Lori Dummer, Marketing Admin. Asst., Stacy Merkel, Auditor and Tim Hoscheit, Sr. Vice President representing Citizens.