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Gifts
Cheryl Lewis, a Putnam Bank employee and Hospice volunteer, (front row, third from left) received donated items for the Good Grief Children’s Bereavement Group, of Hospice and Palliative Care of NE CT. Putnam Bank staff contributed to the donation in lieu of exchanging holiday gifts. Courtesy photo.
PUTNAM --- Sometimes holiday cheer is not enough to help a neighbor in need. This year, the staff at Putnam Bank opted to pass on exchanging Christmas gifts among themselves and instead gathered to donate much-needed items to help support the local Good Grief Children’s Bereavement Group.
The Good Grief Children’s Bereavement Group is sponsored by the Hospice and Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut at Day Kimball Hospital. A support group for children and their accompanying adults who have lost a loved one, the program is run by Hospice staff and volunteers each spring and fall. Children who attend the program are given a light dinner and provided activities to help them cope with their grief. Adults who accompany the children are given support and projects they can do with the children later, allowing for a healthy, supportive, and healing bereavement process.
Donations to the program are especially needed, as bereavement services are not covered by insurance and the program is free to those who need it, according to Cheryl Lewis, a Putnam Bank Price Chopper branch teller and a volunteer for the Good Grief program.
“We feel that by attending the group the support for the bereavement process continues at home,” Lewis said. “Bereavement services aren’t covered my insurance and are offered free to the community. Donations such as those made by Putnam Bank are greatly appreciated by the staff and volunteers.”
Lynn Brodeur, senior vice president and branch administrator for Putnam Bank, said that the bank is glad to support the non-profits groups in the area where employees and customers volunteer.
“Putnam Bank is a small, community bank, so it is important to us to be able to make the lives of those who live here better,” said Brodeur. “If it is important to our team and to our customers, then it is important to us, too.”
The Good Grief program donation is just one of the many supported by Putnam Bank. Putnam bank donates thousands of dollars each year to local non-profits that work to improve the lives of residents in the communities that we serve. During this season of giving, the bank, its employees and customers support the Toys for Tots program, the Tommy Toy Fund, and local food banks.