Bank helps disadvantaged children

Since 2005, Los Padres Bank has sponsored Empowering Our Children, a nonprofit interactive psychology talk-radio program that focuses on children and adolescents with behavioral, neurological, emotional and social disabilities.

Dr. Stephen Blum, a leading psychologist, moderates the weekly broadcasts that feature national mental health experts and educators and provide personalized advice, education, guidance and resources.

The nonprofit brainchild of Rhonda Cerny, wife of CEO, Craig Cerny, and with the crucial partnership of Los Padres Bank, Empowering Our Children first gained a foothold on the radio airwaves of Kansas City, where Los Padres Bank operates its Harrington Bank division.

The ensuing success of the program and leadership in its genre led to the show's expansion this year to weekly re-broadcasts in Los Padres Bank's California Central Coast on KVTA-1520AM and the bank's Scottsdale market as well. Computer streaming to listeners across the country now allows for participation through e-mail.

The bank's sponsorship enables the radio program to make an impact on the lives of listeners struggling to pinpoint resources about often undiagnosed, misunderstood, and invisible children's disabilities.

For information about Empowering Our Children, visit the website at www.empoweringour children.com.