COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

Stearns Financial Group is proud to be the first practice to join the Wealth Management Board of Advisors for the Peggy Ward Financial Literacy Center and Wealth Management Program. The program was established in 2022 to encourage diversity in the financial advisory industry and to encourage financial literacy to under-served markets in the broader community. In addition to board membership, various team members will have the opportunity to teach classes in financial planning at the university as well as at the community level via the Financial Literacy Center.

North Carolina Central University is a historically black, public university located in Durham, North Carolina founded in 1909. It has been part of the University of North Carolina system since 1972 and offers programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels.

BIKES FOR KIDS FOUNDATION

Bikes for Kids provides new bicycles and helmets to underserved second and third grade children with the goal to overcome poverty and entitlement with the lesson, “Nothing is given, everything is earned.

A longtime sponsor of the Bikes for Kids, Stearns Financial Group went a step further in November 2023 by participating for the first time in helping to build the bikes that the organization disperses. Stearns Financial Group employees helped build the last 200 of the 1,700 bikes that were given to children in Title I schools in Guilford County, North Carolina.

YMCA GREENSBORO - BRIGHT BEGINNINGS

YMCA of Greensboro is committed to helping provide all individuals with the tools they need to live a happy, healthy life. Their work thus far has proven that lasting personal and social change comes when we all work together. Stearns Financial Group is honored to work with YMCA Bright Beginnings to help youth in the community start school with the supplies they need, be it clothes, backpacks, notebooks, or anything else.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Habitat NC facilitates increased housing production and neighborhood revitalization efforts across the state by providing a central agency to coordinate advocacy activities, provide training and technical support opportunities, aid in disaster recovery, and serve as a focal point for disseminating statewide resources.

Stearns Financial Group Team Members recently helped with a Habitat for Humanity home build in Chapel Hill, NC. SFG is passionate about working towards affordable housing and aiding families in their paths to financial confidence and clarity.

FEEDING AMERICA

Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs working together to source food, provide financial support and advocate for policies that create long-term solutions to hunger. For each of the two years Stearns Financial Group has participated in Feeding America’s annual virtual fundraising corporate challenge, our practice has been the top fundraising team out of more than 120 advisory practices that make up Hightower Advisors. Through the generosity of our staff, we’ve provided 85,000 meals for hungry families.