Farmers & Merchants Bank (F&M Bank) is pleased to introduce the 5 recipients of the 2023 People You Can Bank On Small Business Grant Program, each receiving $5,000:

• Shachi Mehra, Founder & Executive Chef at ADYA- Fresh Indian Flavors in Anaheim
• Yvonne Brown and Percy Burries, owners of The Next Level Barber Studio in Long Beach
• Andrea Fleytas, owner of The Merchant in Long Beach
• Ricardo Morales, owner of One Parking Service, Inc. in Long Beach
• Leah “Reid” Johnson, owner of Bougie Gurlz Boutique in Long Beach

In its first year as a grant program, People You Can Bank On honors small businesses who support their communities through volunteer work, donations, education, participation in community activities, sustainable practices, and/or providing employment opportunities for veterans, disabled or underprivileged community members.

In an effort to make a larger impact, F&M Bank committed $25,000 to celebrate “people who help people”, or in this instance, small businesses in our community that touch lives, that touch other lives, that still touch others, creating a ripple effect of community support. Eligible businesses could apply for a grant up to $5,000, and recipients agreed to participate in a follow-up consultation with F&M Bank approximately six months after receiving the grant funds.

Recipients were selected from over 100 applicants by a Grants Selection Committee comprised of F&M Bank employees. Preference was given to businesses serving low to moderate income communities and/or those owned by a member of an underrepresented community. Being an F&M Bank client was not a requirement.

The grant funds will be used to assist in addressing critical community needs, such as: improving the lives of underprivileged women, children and youth; organizing community events that raise awareness about diseases that disproportionally affect men of color, collect toys for children at Christmas, and provide free haircuts to those in need; providing regular food donations to local shelters and hiring and training employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities, offering them opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them; purchasing supplies for hygiene kits for individuals experiencing homelessness; offering employment opportunities and mentorship to at-risk teens, underserved young ladies and retirees.

“We are pleased to honor these amazing members of our community with our small business grant program, demonstrating our investment in small businesses in our community,” said Henry Walker, F&M Bank President. “The businesses awarded represent the very best of our shared values, and embody the spirit of service-above-self that F&M has embodied for the last 116 years,” Walker continued.

For more information on F&M Bank business banking, please visit www.fmb.com/business.

About F&M Bank

Founded in Long Beach in 1907 by C.J. Walker, F&M Bank provides white-glove service to clients at 26 branches from San Clemente to Santa Barbara, as well as through Online and Mobile Banking platforms. The Bank offers commercial and small business banking, business loan programs, home loans, and a robust offering of consumer retail banking products, including checking, savings and youth accounts. F&M Bank is a California state-chartered bank with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Member FDIC) and an Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #537388. For more information about F&M, please visit the website,  www.FMB.com.