News

Philadelphia’s First Monochromes Project to be Unveiled

Art company SSEWARD LLC and its Monochromes Project will be on hand at the official unveiling of its latest piece in collaboration with Hyperion Bank at a reception in the Bank’s headquarters lobby at 2nd & Girard Avenue on August 12 at 7 pm. Customers, local residents, businesses and the art community are all invited to attend the ceremony.

Started in 2009, The Monochromes Project (“One Color Many Artists”) is a collaborative art project that uses only found and second-hand materials to construct an original art form of a designated color. SSEWARD has a formula for each piece: People collect “pigment”, which they bring to a coloring party. Artists log their hours and then get paid a portion of whatever the piece sells for. The idea is to foster a livelihood for artists. In this case more than 40 local artists including well known names like Piper Brett, Sarah O'Donnell, Eva Wylie, Nate Gertner, Reese Juel and Masha Badinter all worked on creating the piece. Contemporary art gallery and pioneer of burgeoning North Philadelphia art scene, Little Berlin, housed the newest SSEWARD project during its creation in their group exhibition called “Value City.”

Recognized by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for the restoration of their stunning red brick building, Hyperion Bank stands on the corner of 2nd and Girard, in the Northern Liberties area of the city, as a symbol of revitalization and urban development. “Artists also play a key role in urban development. Looking for cheap studio and exhibition space, artists pioneer an area and initiate the revitalization process. The presence of a community focused institution like Hyperion Bank confirms and strengthens that revitalization,” said SSEWARD founder Scott Bickmore. SSEWARD sees this particular collaboration with Hyperion Bank as a way to acknowledge and encourage this synergy that exists in developing areas.

“During an economic crisis, especially with banks under the microscope, the orange monochrome represents creative and responsible stewardship. With this collaboration, Hyperion Bank and SSEWARD are creating jobs, encouraging urban development, re-purposing materials, and giving the art world another reason to put Philadelphia on the map,” stated Joe Matisoff, President and CEO of Hyperion Bank.

The Bank selected the August 12th unveiling date to tie-in with 2nd Thursdays. Organized by the newly re-formed Girard Business & Arts Association, 2nd Thursdays is a monthly ‘open house’ environment where local businesses stay open late and feature specials, entertainment, art exhibits and a general fun atmosphere up and down the Girard Avenue corridor from Frankford Avenue to 8th Street and surrounding areas including the Crane Arts Building at 1400 N. American Street.

Mayor holds press conference at Hyperion Bank to announce $2 million in city funding for small business development

Philadelphia, Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced $2 million in Community Development Block Grants and Corridor Bond funding awards that will support small business and commercial corridor development in Philadelphia at a recent press conference held at Hyperion Bank. The Bank was chosen as the site for the press conference because of its commitment to making small business and commercial loans and support of the Girard Coalition and the Empowerment Group – both of which received city funding.

The Mayor was introduced by Joe Matisoff, President and CEO of Hyperion Bank. In his opening remarks Mayor Nutter sited Hyperion Bank’s commitment to the local community and thanked the Bank for their efforts to save and restore their stunning headquarters building and support the local economy by providing funds for commercial loans. “Imagine a bank that actually lends money….what a concept,” said Mayor Nutter. “Hyperion Bank is proud of its track record for providing business loans that support economic growth in our local community. That’s what being a community bank is all about,” stated Joe Matisoff.

Three programs: the Targeted Corridor Management Program, the Business Technical Assistance Program and the ReStore Retail Incentive Grant Program, fund and foster economic development by providing business development support, technical assistance and help for existing businesses to expand their stores. These investments are part of the City's current commitment of more than $70 million in supportive funding for small businesses.

Joining the Mayor were local Council members, Darrell Clarke and Maria D. Quinones-Sanchez. Photos by Tony Webb.

Piazza at Schmidt's

2010 Season of Events

Join Hyperion Bank at our booth on the Piazza this season as we participate in the following events:

May 29 - Piazza Flea Market

July 3 - Italian Renaissance Fair

August 14 - Piazza Carnival & Circus

September 11 - Philadelphia Fall Restaurant Weekend

We'll have lots of free goodies to give away. Come on out and join in the fun. HOPE WE'LL SEE YOU THERE!

12th Annual Take Your Dog to Work Day

June 25, 2010

8 am to 12 Noon

• Help Hyperion Bank celebrate Pet Sitters International Take Your Dog to Work Day.
• Bring your favorite canine companion along for doggie treats and enter our raffle for a special gift basket full of Doggie Goodies. Meet "Buddy" Matisoff, Hyperion Bank's first dog and his proud owner, Joe our illustrious President & CEO. Bank employees will also be bringing along their four legged friends to join in the fun.
• We are planning on a "Bake Sale" - all proceeds to benefit PAWS at 2nd & Arch Streets - so plan on stopping by our table to pick up some homemade people goodies to enjoy for the weekend.
• PAWS will be here with "Dogs for Adoption"
• For further information on the event please contact Sue Collins at Hyperion Bank at 215-789-4196.
• Please visit PAWS online at www.phillypaws.org to learn more about this fine community organization.

City Wide Spring Clean-Up

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Hyperion Bank and its employees and local neighbors answered Mayor Nutter's call for help in cleaning up the city. Hyperion Bank volunteered to participate in supporting the host site with Kensington South Neighborhood Advisory Council (KSNAC) out of the FINANTA Center at 2nd & Thompson Streets.

In addition, Joe Matisoff, president and CEO of the bank, said that the bank's employees, plus numerous family members, signed up to help pick up trash and otherwise clean the neighborhood surrounding the bank's headquarters facility at the corner of Second and Girard.

"We view this as part of the civic responsibility any good corporate citizen should feel," said Matisoff. In addition to the supplies provided by the city, Hyperion Bank provided the volunteers with free bottles of water, boxes of fruit and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that the Bank in known for.

Volunteers collected dozens of bags of trash - approximately half of which were recyclables. The statue of Don Quixote was cleaned, weeded, the rose bushes pruned, ground cover planted and then mulched.

Special thanks go out to our friends and neighbors along 2nd Street and Palethorp Street for pitching in. And to Kensington South Neighborhood Advisory Council (KSNAC) for donating five spectacular purple azaleas which the bank staffers planted in their garden area at the corner of Girard Avenue and Palethorp Street. In exchange the Bank donated the mulch for the event.

Third Season Opener of Family Theatre Series hosted by Hyperion Bank

November 7, 2009

• The premiere performance of Runaway Bunny, presented by B. Someday Productions was a runaway hit with local families at this community event hosted for the third year by Hyperion Bank.
• The Family Theatre Series in an interactive, literature-based performance program for children (ages 2-7) and their caregivers that features professional actors bringing great children's stories to life. The children participated by acting out the characters with their bodies and their voices. Then they made a handicraft related to the stories that were told and had healthy snacks that the Bank provided as an extra treat.
• To the children's delight, actors Sonja Bingham and Daniel Ostrov also performed based on two additional stories, Franklin in the Dark and The Ugly Duckling.
• Joe Matisoff, Hyperion Bank President, noted "we are very pleased to once again make our space available for this great neighborhood group. We are huge supporters of educational programs for our community residents."

 

Hyperion Bank Hosts Hyper Halloween Spooktacular!

Saturday, October 24th

• Hyperion Bank, extended an invitation to local residents and their children to attend their first ever Halloween event in the headquarters branch office at 199 W. Girard Avenue on Saturday, October 24th.
• The Bank's staff went all out with Haunted House decorations including a graveyard, a bubbling witch's cauldron, ghosts, flying bats, spiders and spooky Halloween sounds and music. The children enjoyed a special 'witch's brew' and goody bags filled with treats and prizes to take home.
• According to bank president, Joe Matisoff, "the pumpkin painting was a big hit and the balloon artist was spectacular." The Witches of Hyperion Bank hosted around 45 children and their parents. One of the witches said, "As a community bank we are always looking for ways to touch our local neighborhood residents and what could be more fun than a Halloween party for the children?