The Union Savings Bank Foundation has continued its support for local organizations that address human needs by awarding $3,000 to Gifts of Love in Avon.
Gifts of Love is a non-profit organization that serves the Greater Hartford, Farmington Valley and Torrington areas, providing more than $300,000 in goods and services to local residents each year. Its mission is to help meet the basic needs of individuals and families experiencing a financial crisis so that they can achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. The organization fulfills this mission by providing items such as food, clothing, household items, furniture and more to those who can’t make ends meet.
“We’re very happy to support such a deserving organization,” said Union Savings Bank President and CEO Fran Dattalo. “Communities are only as strong, happy and healthy as their residents. That’s why the bank’s foundation is focused on helping to fund services and programs that help meet the health and human service needs of individuals in the communities we serve. As a local community bank, we provide support every way that we can.”
The foundation’s $3,000 grant will support funding for Gifts of Love’s Volunteen program. Members of this program work with the local school systems, clubs, youth groups, sports teams and religious and civic groups to enable students to volunteer and assist more people in need. Volunteens run the Gifts of Love program the first Saturday of each month and two weeknights per month, and assist with the fresh food program, fund raising and events.
“Gifts of Love’s client base has increased more than 100 percent, while our budget has only increased 50 percent – an indication of how valuable our volunteer and Volunteen support is to our agency,” said Diana Goode, executive director of Gifts of Love. “This grant will allow us to continue to expand our Volunteen program, which allows us to be open evenings and weekends – better hours for our high school volunteers and our working clients.”
Photo caption (from left to right): Gifts of Love volunteers Michele and Carol Herron; Executive Director Diana Goode; Food Pantry Coordinator Tom Heleniak; and Union Savings Bank Vice President, Retail Business Development Officer Scott Nardozzi.
About Gifts of Love
Gifts of Love provides basic needs – food, clothing, furniture, household items and energy assistance – to people in the Greater Hartford area. When times are toughest, the working poor who don't qualify for many government programs are often hit the hardest. The families that are served by GoL's programs face a short-term crisis in their lives due to reduced working hours, illness, divorce, death of a spouse/mate, domestic abuse or a significant unexpected increase in expenses. By helping clients meet their families’ most basic needs – food on the table, a winter coat or a bed to sleep in – we enable them to focus on putting their lives back in order and regaining their independence. For more information, please visit giftsoflovect.org.
About Union Savings Bank
Established in 1866 and headquartered in Danbury, Conn., Union Savings Bank is a $2.5 billion mutual bank dedicated to being the bank of choice in western Connecticut. As a full-service financial institution, Union Savings Bank provides banking, mortgage, investment, trust and insurance products throughout western Connecticut with 29 offices in Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Canton, Danbury, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Marble Dale, Monroe, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Sharon, Southbury, Torrington and Washington Depot. The bank provides financial services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and government entities through its commercial, residential and consumer lending, corporate services, retail banking and wealth management divisions.
For more information, please visit unionsavings.com, and connect with the bank on LinkedIn and Facebook.
