NEWS

Origin Bank has donated $40,000 to Louisiana Tech’s Department of Inclusion Initiatives and Student Success, part of $700,000 the bank distributed to a variety of charitable organizations and other educational institutions in its markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

“This donation continues our long-term partnership with Louisiana Tech and reinforces how much we value our relationship with the University,” said Drake Mills, chairman, president, and CEO of Origin Bancorp, Inc. “We are passionately committed to the values that Louisiana Tech stands for and making meaningful and lasting investments in its students, faculty, and staff.”

This spring, Tech named Devonia Love-Vaughn as Dean of its newly created Department of Inclusive Initiatives and Student Success, designed to ensure that every student on campus feels at home within the Tech Family.

“How fortunate we are to be one of the beneficiaries of the generosity of Origin Bank,” Love-Vaughn said. “This donation is indeed a testament to the bank’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in all of the communities they serve. For Louisiana Tech University, it’s a historic partnership that further validates the work done in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and expands the resources of the work yet to be done regarding inclusive excellence on our campus. As the designee to oversee these efforts, I am humbled and excited about the possibilities the new resources will add to our work of ensuring a safe, healthy, and inclusive campus environment.”

“We are most appreciative of the leadership that Origin Bank has provided for our community since the bank’s inception,” said Tech President Dr. Les Guice. “This gift reinforces Origin’s strong commitment to Louisiana Tech and our mutual goals of advancing diversity and inclusive excellence on our campus and in our community. These funds will have a synergistic impact on our students, faculty, and staff. We are grateful to Drake Mills, Lance Hall, and the many Tech alumni with Origin Bank who have demonstrated a model of excellence for our institution over many years.”

“We are proud to have helped deliver more than $563 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to 3,000-plus businesses, safeguarding the jobs of approximately 60,000 employees of Origin Bank customers,” said Lance Hall, president and CEO of Origin Bank. “Now, with these donations, we’re taking that effort even further into the communities we serve.”

Some of the other organizations that will receive support include Boys and Girls Clubs, local food banks, United Way, Grambling State University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern, and Paul Quinn College.

“These organizations, institutions, and programs play key roles in our communities, providing a safe haven for children, food for the needy, and helping to advance social programs and initiatives that become particularly important in times of crisis,” Hall said. “We’re pleased to recognize these groups and to support their missions.”

“We recognize that we are all in this together,” Hall added, “and Origin will continue to stand with our customers and communities as we battle this pandemic.”

The PPP was part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) and designed to provide small businesses with funds to help meet payroll and employee benefit costs.

Chartered in Louisiana more than a century ago, Origin Bank is headquartered in Choudrant and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the financial holding company, Origin Bancorp, Inc. To learn more, visit Origin Bank’s website at origin.bank.

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