Matthew Payette, VP Regional Manager, BayCoast Bank; Patrick Cole, Director of Development & Communications at West Place Animal Sanctuary; Alexandra Vasconcelos, Loan Officer, BayCoast Mortgage; Michael Medeiros, Tiverton Branch Manager, BayCoast Bank; Faith Melo, BayCoast Scholarship recipient; Betty-Ann Mullins, SVP Commercial Loan Officer, BayCoast Bank; Wendy Taylor, Founder & Executive Director of West Place Animal Sanctuary
BayCoast Bank, a long-time community bank known for its strong support of educational initiatives on the South Coast, is proud to acknowledge a local high school student’s passion for helping animals.
West Place Animal Sanctuary, located on eight stunning acres of historic farmland in Tiverton, Rhode Island, was the setting for an inspiring award ceremony, where members of BayCoast Bank proudly awarded Faith Melo, a rising senior at Bishop Stang High School, with the new BayCoast Bank Scholarship.
Betty-Ann Mullins, Senior Vice President Commercial Loan Officer, gets a kiss from Cash, the leader of West Place’s alpaca herd
“I am thrilled to be the recipient of the very first BayCoast Bank Scholarship at West Place Animal Sanctuary,” said Melo, a student intern for the non-profit organization, which is a sanctuary for abused and neglected farm animals. “It is such an honor to be a part of the great work being done at West Place to help animals that need our love and care.”
Established in March of this year, the BayCoast Bank Scholarship helps to give local high school and college students an immersive, hands-on educational experience at West Place Animal Sanctuary, which provides a permanent home and lifelong care to farm animals rescued from abuse, neglect, and cruelty cases.
BayCoast Mortgage’s Alexandra Vasconcelos pets the animals at West Place
“Faith has shown a deep passion and understanding for our animals since her first day on the job,” said Wendy Taylor, West Place Founder and Executive Director. “She quickly became one of our best and most trusted student interns. She is very deserving of this award.”
The BayCoast Bank Scholarship supports the sanctuary’s unique Educational Internship Programs, offsetting the costs West Place incurs with recruiting, onboarding, training, and continuously educating a student intern. “It is only through the generosity of individual and corporate donors like BayCoast Bank that West Place’s popular Educational Internship Programs can remain free of cost to local students,” notes Taylor.
“BayCoast Bank is very pleased to support this immersive experience at West Place,” said Betty-Ann Mullins, Senior Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer for BayCoast Bank. “As we toured the farm, we could truly see the love, care, and support these beautiful animals receive at the sanctuary. We congratulate Faith as the recipient of our newly established scholarship. Her commitment and compassion are exemplary.”
BayCoast Bank’s Michael Medeiros feeding blueberries to the chickens and roosters at West Place
Melo says the internship program at West Place has been lifechanging. “This incredible experience has made such a difference in my life and has helped influence my decision to apply to colleges that offer a pre-veterinary program.”
For 15 years, West Place Animal Sanctuary has served Rhode Island and Southern New England by providing care to farm animals rescued from abuse and neglect. West Place also offers wildlife rehabilitation services and is the only organization of its kind in the region.
About BayCoast Bank
BayCoast Bank is a long-standing community bank providing financial products and services to the people and businesses of Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island through 25 branches and loan production offices, with more coming soon. The Bank offers a family of complete financial services through its subsidiaries: BayCoast Mortgage Company, LLC, BayCoast Financial Services, Plimoth Investment Advisors, Partners Insurance Group, LLC, and Priority Funding, LLC. For more information, visit Baycoast.bank or call 508-678-7641.