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Webster Banker Brings Joy to Kids with Incarcerated Parents
NEW BRITAIN/BRIDGEPORT, Conn., June 14, 2016 – Ebony Hargrove, a resident of New Britain, Connecticut, and
an associate financial analyst in Human Resources at Webster Bank, is an honoree of the bank’s “80 Days of Giving”
employee volunteer campaign. The volunteer effort is part of Webster’s 80 th Anniversary celebration. An awards
ceremony was held recently at the Radisson Cromwell Hotel in Cromwell. Hargrove’s volunteer effort earned $1,000 for
the nonprofit of her choice – Mount Aery Baptist Church.
The happy faces that greeted Hargrove during a party last December at the church in Bridgeport for children whose
parents are incarcerated made the volunteer experience something she’ll not soon forget.
“I realized that even though I set out to make a difference, the impact was reciprocal,” Hargrove said. “Although I did not
receive a tangible gift as the children did, the gift for me was in the giving.”
Hargrove helped the church with its Angel Tree event, a collaboration of Prison Fellowship Ministries and local churches
to provide Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated adults. Children's names were provided to participating churches and
gifts were purchased by members of the Mount Aery congregation in the name of the incarcerated parent. The gifts were
then distributed to the families at an Angel Tree party hosted by the participating church.
Before the event, Hargrove called caregivers to confirm gift recommendations, and on the day of the party, she was
among the volunteers who transformed a church hall into a winter wonderland, featuring face painting, arts and crafts,
video games, and musical chairs. The families who attended the party were also served dinner and presented with gift
cards and turkeys for their holiday meals.
“The highlight of my experience was calling caregivers of the children,” Hargrove said. “Everyone I spoke to expressed
heartfelt thanks for being selected to attend the event. Although I could not take any of the credit, it felt good telling them
‘You're welcome!’ on behalf of those that were responsible for making it happen.”
The banker volunteer initiative, “80 Days of Giving,” was launched October 11, 2015. In all, 103 bankers nominated
volunteer activities to receive one of the 80 grants. The breadth and impact of participation stimulated even greater
community involvement by Webster bankers who now contribute more than 125,000 volunteer hours annually. Webster
Bank is a leading regional bank serving businesses and consumers in the northeast.
In the photo, Kathy Luria, senior vice president, philanthropy at Webster; Ebony Hargrove; Andrea Barge-Newsome, Angel Tree
Program Coordinator; and Jim Smith, chairman and CEO at Webster.
About Webster
Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With $24.9 billion in assets, Webster provides
business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust, and investment services through 176 banking centers and 351 ATMs.
Webster also provides telephone banking, mobile banking, and Internet banking. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending firm Webster
Business Credit Corporation; the equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance Corporation; and HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank,
which provides health savings account trustee and administrative services. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing
lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at
www.websterbank.com.