“Lakeland Bank is proud to work with an organization that is dedicated to helping and protecting the senior citizens in our community. Our investment in the foundation will help Middletown Park Rehab offer a greater sense of security with a program that is designed to deter crime before it becomes an issue,” said John Rath, first senior vice president of Lakeland Bank.

Lakeland Bank has joined with CRA Partners to help provide funding for the Senior Crimestoppers program for the residents at Middletown Park Rehab and Health Care Center in Middletown, N.Y. Crime against the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be reduced and prevented through the Senior Crimestoppers program.

“Lakeland Bank is proud to work with an organization that is dedicated to helping and protecting the senior citizens in our community. Our investment in the foundation will help Middletown Park Rehab offer a greater sense of security with a program that is designed to deter crime before it becomes an issue,” said John Rath, first senior vice president of Lakeland Bank.

“Senior Crimestoppers is a way for an administrator to further enhance the lives of the residents they serve. They all work hard to provide safe, secure, comfortable living environments and implementing this program is just one example of this. Use of this program does not mean the facility has a crime problem, but that the administrator is proactively finding a way to keep problems from occurring in the future,” said Terry Rooker, president of Senior Crimestoppers.

Senior Crimestoppers is a coordinated set of components that works to create a zero tolerance of crime in senior housing facilities. Components include cash rewards up to $1,000 paid anonymously for information about wrongdoing of any kind, personal lockboxes for residents, and effective, on-going education and training for staff members and residents. Senior Crimestoppers has reduced all aspects of crime in participating facilities by 94%.

CRA Partners, powered by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, is a national organization that guarantees banks federally mandated CRA credit through the operation of the turn-key Senior Crimestoppers program providing safe and secure living environments for our nation’s low to moderate income seniors. Through flexible funding options such as CRA-qualified community development loans, investments or grants, banks provide the program in senior housing facilities, HUD communities and state Veterans homes while garnering positive public relations exposure in their communities.

About Lakeland Bank
Lakeland Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:LBAI), which has $5.1 billion in total assets. The Bank operates 52 New Jersey branch offices in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties and one branch in Highland Mills, New York; six New Jersey regional commercial lending centers in Bernardsville, Jackson, Montville, Newton, Teaneck and Waldwick; and one in New York to serve the Hudson Valley region. Lakeland also has a commercial loan production office serving Middlesex and Monmouth counties in New Jersey. Lakeland Bank offers an extensive suite of financial products and services for businesses and consumers. Visit LakelandBank.com for more information.