Community Banks Launch Fundraiser For Local Food Pantries

Press release from Union Savings Bank:

Oct. 14, 2020

Union Savings Bank, Savings Bank of Danbury, and Newtown Savings Bank today announced a fundraising alliance titled “Feeding Our Neighbors Community Challenge” through which the banks have donated a total of $45,000, which will benefit the Danbury Food Collaborative.

The challenge idea came from the much-publicized banter between Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and HBO Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, and Oliver’s pledge to donate $55,000 to local charities if the city’s sewage treatment plant carried his name.

“We saw an opportunity to build on Mr. Oliver’s donation to have a bigger impact in helping those in need,” said Cynthia C. Merkle, Union Savings Bank President and CEO. “With the financial services industry being a critical part of the foundation of our community, asking the banks to step-up first seemed achievable. Two phone calls later, we had $45,000 to seed this effort.”

Merkle said that she placed those telephone calls to Martin G. Morgado, President and CEO of the Savings Bank of Danbury, and Kenneth L. Weinstein, President and CEO, Newtown Savings Bank. The conversations were short as both bank presidents embraced the concept.

“The decision was an easy one,” said Morgado. “The City of Danbury has a long history of helping the less fortunate, and the banking community prides itself on giving back where it is needed the most and will have the greatest impact.”

Added Weinstein: “COVID-19 has permeated every aspect of our community and threatened access to some of our most basic needs. This effort will put food on tables that would have been bare going into the cold weather season and the holidays.”

The Danbury Food Collaborative consists of more than 24 agencies in the Danbury area including 14 food pantries and congregate meal programs, who are convened and supported by United Way of Western Connecticut. Some of these pantries are currently serving three times as many households as they were before COVID. In the month of July alone, these nonprofit organizations had 7,000 visits to their pantries, and according to 211 Counts Connecticut data, requests for information about food resources in Fairfield County went from 1,607 in May of 2019 to 23,900 in May of 2020.

Administration and distribution of the funds are being handled by the United Way of Western Connecticut. Individuals and businesses can donate to the “Feeding Our Neighbors Community Challenge” through the campaign portal at www.FeedingOurNeighborsChallenge.org, which is hosted by the United Way of Western Connecticut.

This press release was produced by Union Savings Bank. The views expressed here are the author's own.