Century Savings Bank puts its money where its mouth is.

  And that is fine with Gateway Community Action Partnership.

  Century Savings Bank presented Gateway President & CEO Albert B. Kelly with a check for $9,500 last week to help support the agency’s Literacy Volunteers program, as well as three other initiatives.

  “This is the kind of meaningful support that really benefits the community because it enables us to make good programs even better,” Kelly said. “Century is a Gateway supporter and provides that support is a real way.”

  Century Savings Bank donated $5,000 to Literacy Volunteers, which recruits, trains and matches adult tutors with adult learners in Cumberland and Salem counties. Literacy Volunteers has trained more than 100 tutors in the past five years and has currently more than 75 active tutors matched with learners.

  Gateway’s Literacy Volunteers program received the Alice M. Leppert Award for Outstanding Affiliate Achievement in 2011 and 2013 from the Literacy New Jersey.

  Century did more than just provide funding to help the agency’s literacy program. Two bank employees are taking tutor training and Century also plans to make tutor/learner meeting space available.

  “At Century Savings Bank, we're actively engaged in developing, strengthening and energizing our communities. Individually and together, we live our brand, Community Banking Plus,” David Hemple, President & CEO of Century Savings Bank, said.

  “In supporting these programs we invest in the people and places where we live and work. We’re proud to partner with Gateway in creating more vibrant communities throughout South Jersey. We believe in giving back to the communities we serve. We are helping to build viable and sustainable communities by working closely with strong non-for profit partners like Gateway in addressing critical community needs,” he added.

  In addition to helping to fund Gateway’s literacy program, Century Savings Bank provided $2,000 to the agency’s housing counseling/home buyers training, $1,500 to the Head Start program and $1,000 to the Mill Creek Urban Farm.

  “The support Century has shown Gateway is an inspiration for us,” Kelly said. “We work hard to improve our community by seeking to better the lives of our community members and on-going support like this tells us we are doing the right things.”

  Century’s supports housing counseling/home buyers training by teaching one of the Gateway sessions. Mill Creek Urban Farm support comes through purchase of produce for distribution to area senior centers and the bank will conduct an introduction to savings for Head Start children in Gloucester County centers.