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First Foundation Bank understands and supports the growing need for financial education for seniors on limited incomes, especially in the current economic climate. This is why we began a partnership with The Joslyn Center in 2022 with a “Supporting Our Communities” grant to benefit its senior counseling program, Aging Mastery, which focuses on the development of behaviors that improve the financial security, health, and overall well-being of their participants. The Joslyn Center is a non-profit based in Palm Desert, CA that provides programs and services for older adults throughout the Coachella Valley. The organization is dedicated to leading the way in enhancing the well-being of adults 50+ through innovative programs and services, including financial and other education classes, nutritious home delivered meals, and social gatherings. 

First Foundation was first introduced to The Joslyn Center in 2021 through Andrea Durrett, the branch manager at Indian Wells.  Andrea has been actively involved with the organization since 2019, and her passion and leadership inspired her team in Indian Wells to volunteer teaching financial education classes to the seniors at The Joslyn Center every month. This group effort by the Indian Wells team is helping the Center’s participants to better budget, anticipate dealing with higher prices due to inflation costs rising for food and shelter, and create financial stability.  

The Covid-19 pandemic forced The Joslyn Center to suspend in-person classes, but our Indian Wells branch continued to offer financial education to the participants through a program of virtual classes as well as one-on-one virtual meetings. Recently, in-person programs have resumed at the center and our team is back to providing this important education to participants in English, as well as the addition of classes taught in Spanish by our branch team members, Lily and Giovanni.  

First Foundation saw Andrea and her team’s commitment to the organization and wanted to support their efforts to carry out the impactful work that The Joslyn Center is doing with the senior population in the community. First Foundation began to facilitate a stronger partnership with The Joslyn Center starting in 2022 with a Supporting our Communities grant, a commitment to volunteer to lead Financial Health Check-up classes, and an additional offer of pro-bono consulting services.  We are continuing to build on our partnership with Joslyn Center through an additional Supporting our Communities grant in 2023, ongoing volunteer work teaching financial education and planning, and utilizing the pro-bono support services provided by First Foundation Bank’s Director of Philanthropy Services, Marty Dutch. 

Acknowledging the impact of the partnership, Jack Newby, Executive Director of The Joslyn Center remarked, “Knowledge of finance and budgeting is vital for many of our seniors. Sometimes, a spouse or partner who managed the household finances has passed away or is unable to continue in this role. Many seniors need advice on basic fiscal management and the team at First Foundation Bank have stepped up to provide this essential knowledge to our participants. We are extremely grateful to Andrea and the First Foundation team for their ongoing support and for sharing their knowledge of financial matters to improve the lives of our members”    

Teamwork is the key to success, and our team members exemplify this every day within our offices and in their selfless support of the local community. What started as a single employee doing great work has evolved into a group effort for the entire branch team and a community partnership to further the cause of positively impacting older adults.     

First Foundation Bank is grateful to assist The Joslyn Center in their mission to make positive change in the communities we serve.   

To learn more about The Joslyn Center and the great work they do in the Coachella Valley, visit: Joslyn Center | Cove Communities Senior Association