BLOOMINGTON, IND. — Monroe Bank (NASDAQ:MROE) is closing the majority of its banking centers in Monroe County on Tuesday, October 14 for a half-day so employees can take part in volunteer projects across the community. The volunteer effort is in conjunction with the "Week of Caring" organized by the United Way of Monroe County.

It is the eighth year that the Company has provided paid time off to allow teams of employees to volunteer. As is the tradition, the Bank will set aside the afternoon of October 14, close most of its banking centers at Noon, but keep volunteering employees on the clock until 5 p.m. Of the 175 employees working in the Bank's Monroe County locations, 125 will provide volunteer labor to more than a dozen local projects. A contingent will stay behind to keep two banking centers fully staffed and open for business.

Most Monroe Bank banking centers in Bloomington and Ellettsville and the Bank's Loan Center will close at Noon on October 14. The drive-through Kirkwood Auto Banking Center at 306 E. Kirkwood and the banking center inside Marsh at 1825 N. Kinser Pike will both remain open regular business hours for the full day.

"We provide the paid time off as just one more demonstration to our employees of how seriously we take our commitment to our communities" said Mark D. Bradford, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am often told by employees how much they enjoy this opportunity to make a difference.

"What I find as Monroe Bank's biggest reward is seeing how our employees take on someone else's unique challenge and make it their own. That's when a difference is made, not only for the nonprofit agency and the community at large, but also deep within the individual volunteer employee. It makes a lasting impression, and our philosophy is that once that impression is made, the seeds are sown and a perpetual volunteer is created."

Monroe Bank employees in Monroe County will participate in thirteen Day of Caring projects, volunteering for such organizations as the Middle Way House, Shalom Community Center, the Bloomington Area Arts Council, the Bloomington Housing Authority, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Hoosier Trails Council of Boy Scouts, Monroe County United Ministries and Wildcare, Inc.

Monroe Bank employees outside of Monroe County have already volunteered during their own Day of Caring. Two of Monroe Bank's three Hendricks County offices closed for a half-day on September 12, allowing employees time to volunteer at a local park, cleaning up damage from recent floods that affected Central Indiana. Monroe Bank in Brownstown closed early on May 20 to clean carpets, build shelves and paint walls for the Brownstown Senior Center. The six employees of Monroe Bank in Bedford sorted through food donations from a recent U.S. Post Office food drive and organized other donations at the Bedford Community Care Center during their May 14 Day of Caring.

Monroe Bank was established in 1892 in Bloomington, Indiana and is the wholly owned subsidiary of Monroe Bancorp, an Indiana bank holding company headquartered in Bloomington. Monroe Bank offers a full range of financial, trust and investment services to its more than 20,000 retail and commercial customers through offices in Monroe, Jackson, Lawrence and Hendricks counties. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® National Stock Market under the symbol MROE.