Androscoggin Bank Loan Operations Representative Kelly Ridley hugs Dempsey at the bank’s Operations Center.

Employees at Androscoggin Bank were delighted when Patrick Dempsey, in the company of his sister, Mary Dempsey, and several other staff members of the Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing, stopped by the bank’s Operations Center recently for a surprise visit.

The appearance was part of a larger effort that day to recognize local businesses for their support of the Dempsey Challenge and the Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing. Androscoggin Bank was the group’s first stop, where Dempsey thanked members of the bank’s Dempsey Challenge Team for its determined fundraising efforts. Since forming its first Dempsey Challenge Team in 2009, the bank has raised more than $69,000 for the Dempsey Center.

The mission of the Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing is especially near and dear to many of the bank’s employees who have been personally touched by cancer. This is reflected in the team’s efforts to organize independent fundraising events each year. The team hosts a lobster roll and chicken sandwich fundraiser every year and recently partnered with Pinky D’s Food Truck, which donated a portion of the day’s profits from lunch sales toward the team’s fundraising.

The team welcomes community members to join in the fun. For more information about its fundraising events or how you can join the Bank’s team, call them at 1-800-966-9172 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.