NEWPORT, R.I. (December 3, 2007) – BankNewport Vice President and Washington Square Branch Manager, Donna M. Giblin and Vice President and Wellington Square Branch Manager, Sheila Hagen-Peters recently presented over 200 rolls of paper towel and 475 rolls of bathroom tissue to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Executive Director, Amanda Frye Leinhos. Bank employees donated the paper products as part of “World Series Dress Down Days” to benefit the Center’s food pantry. Employees were allowed to dress casual throughout the World Series in exchange for paper towel and/or bathroom tissue donations, to assist the Center meet the needs of local families during the upcoming holiday season.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center operates Newport County’s only daily meal site - a breakfast program - and the highest-volume food pantry operation in the area. In 2006, the Center produced nearly 56,000 meals for families and individuals in need – 14,715 breakfasts, 31,485 food pantry meals, and an additional 9,765 meals in holiday baskets during November and December. The community's needs are increasing as the Center provided just 9,375 meals in 1999. Clients served by the Center reside throughout Newport County – 80% from Newport, 12% from Middletown, 3% from Portsmouth, 2% from Jamestown and 3% from Tiverton and Little Compton.

Paper products, such as paper towel and bathroom tissue, are also continually in demand at the food pantry. Donations of non-perishable food items, baby formula and paper goods are accepted daily at the Center located at 20 Dr. Marcus F. Wheatland Boulevard in Newport. For more information, contact 848-7360.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center was incorporated in 1922 as the Newport Community Center to provide recreational activities for community residents. Over the past 85 years, this Center has emerged as a multicultural, multi-service agency that has provided a wide variety of human services to low-income residents of Newport County. The Center offers educational, social, and recreational activities to persons of all ages and cultures, and promotes personal growth and well being through the full utilization of community resources for the benefit of the people of Newport County.

BankNewport, founded in 1819 and currently holding $1 billion in assets, is an FDIC-insured savings bank. Along with its other OceanPoint Financial Partners - OceanPoint Insurance Agency, Inc., Smith Mack & Associates, Meredith & Clarke, and Narragansett Underwriting Group – BankNewport is proud to serve the financial needs of customers from banking and insurance offices located throughout southeastern New England.