KeyBank Empoyees Volunteer on Neighbors Make the Difference Day

From Gaffney Bennett PR: On Wednesday May 24th, KeyBank hosted its 27th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day, where 300 employees across Connecticut spent the day volunteering with community organizations and service projects. They joined 7,000 KeyBank employees in 15 states who received paid time off to complete an estimated 28,000 service hours in the neighborhoods where they live and work. Together, Connecticut employees volunteered more than 1,120 hours in a single day.

Statewide KeyBank Volunteer Projects included:

• Andover: Channel 3 Kids Camp - Volunteers assisted in outdoor clean up, gardening, and cabin set up
• Bloomfield: Habitat For Humanity Restore – Employees focused on cleaning and organizing donated products and materials
• Branford: Branford Parks & Recreation – Park beautification included trash pickup and gardening
• Bridgeport: Homes for the Brave – Volunteers planted vegetables and flowers
• Durham: Camp Farnam – Outdoor activity included landscaping, painting, cleaning, and setting up program areas
• East Hartford: Pack Leaders Dog Rescue of Connecticut – Volunteers took dogs for walks and cleaned up the facility
• Fairfield: Connecticut Food Bank Fairfield – Employees packed weekend meals for food-insecure children in the Kids BackPack Program
• Hamden: Whitneyville Cultural Commons – Participants organized the workshop and garage
• Hartford: Community Renewal Team – Participant project included reading and activities with children
• Hartford: Hands on Hartford – Volunteers helped with food preparation
• Hartford: My Sister’s Place – Employees assisted with outdoor cleanup
• Hartford: South Park Inn – Volunteers assisted with maintenance, painting and inventory projects
• Manchester: CAST Children’s Theatre – Volunteers assisted with office projects including costume inventory and folder assembly
• Manchester: MARC Inc of Manchester – Outdoor activity included yardwork and painting
• New Haven: Davenport Children’s Garden – Participants fixed raised garden beds and re-painted the entrance to the garden
• New Haven: Sherman Forest at Beaver Pond Park – Outdoor activity included trash cleanup, mulch work, and building trails in Sherman Forest
• North Grosvenordale: TEEG – Volunteers helped with the community garden
• Old Saybrook: Estuary Council of Seniors – Employees assisted with landscaping
• Simsbury: Gifts of Love & Community Farm Simsbury – Outdoor activity included painting, harvesting organic produce, barn maintenance, and working with animals
• South Windsor: South Windsor Senior Center – Volunteers assisted in yard cleanup of elderly housing
• Vernon: Strong Family Farm – Volunteers assisted in garden preparation
• Wallingford: Connecticut Food Bank Wallingford - Employees packed weekend meals for food-insecure children in the Kids BackPack Program
• West Hartford: Elizabeth Park – Outdoor activity included gardening and trash cleanup
• Westbrook: Sarah Inc – Volunteers helped with grounds cleanup

Neighbors Make the Difference Day launched in 1991, with a group of KeyBank employees in Alaska who volunteered for service projects. By 1993, Key extended the concept to many of the communities it served, making it an official day of employee volunteerism. Now, Neighbors Make the Difference Day is a hallmark program and leading corporate volunteerism effort in America, showcasing Key’s commitment to its communities.

“KeyBank is focused on supporting neighborhood prosperity throughout the state of Connecticut,” said Jeff L. Hubbard, KeyBank Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Market President. “Neighbors Make the Difference Day allows our employees the opportunity to volunteer their time with organizations and projects that help stabilize our neighborhoods and support our community.”

For more information about KeyBank’s culture of service and commitment to philanthropy and volunteerism, visit www.key.com/philanthropy.

Photo courtesy of Gaffney Bennett PR (As part of the national Neighbors Make the Difference Day, local KeyBank employees volunteered at Camp Farnam in Durham. Employees helped with landscaping, painting, cleaning, and setting up program areas.)