Submitted by Steve Denison.
The Liberty Bank / Rotary Club Thanksgiving drive is in its 16th year helping families in the local communities by raising money to put food on tables of those in need. This year the Liberty Bank teams in Haddam and Higganum partnered with the Haddam Lions club to raise money for the Haddam Food Bank. The fund raiser ran from October 14 through November 23, 2019 and consisted of branch customer donations in exchange for displaying their name on paper turkey legs. These turkey legs filled the branches in Haddam and Higganum as many people in our community offered money to support the less fortunate.
“Some of our customers gave money every week when they came in, and some wanted to give more money to have their paper turkey leg repositioned in the branch,” said Arline Bruenn, the Operations Supervisor in the Haddam Office. “We all had a lot of fun with this, and were proud to support such a great cause.”
In addition to the money raised in the branch, the Higganum branch hosted a Saturday morning with Henry, a beautiful 40-pound white turkey. Henry was available outside of the branch and offered opportunities for people to pet the turkey and donate money. It was a huge hit with people coming to the branch Saturday morning, and even attracted many people who were going to Jack’s for breakfast. “That morning alone we raised over $550.00 for the food bank,” said Debra Carson, assistant manager of the Higganum office.
In addition to branch contributions, the Haddam Lions club made a sizable donation to the fundraiser to benefit the food bank. The Haddam Lions club is a very active organization and recently presented the Haddam Food Bank directly with a sizable check from their Haddam Duck Race so their donation to this fundraiser was a true act of generosity and shows their support to our community.
When the fund raiser ended on November 23, 2019 the Liberty Bank Foundation contributed an additional $.25 per dollar raised. This ended up becoming a donation of over $600 from the Liberty Bank Foundation to add to the amount collected. All of these funds were added up and on Tuesday November 26, 2019 the branch teams from the Haddam and Higganum offices, along with members of the Haddam Lions club presented the Haddam Food Bank director, Jessica Condil with a check for $3,196.61 to provide food for Haddam families.
In photo of big check: Back row: (left to right) Tim Tierney, Don Roche (President Haddam Lions) Stephen Denison (Branch Manager Liberty Bank), Joe Markim (Liberty Bank Investment Services) Middle Row (left to Right) Lisa Tierney, Barbara Simone, Arline Bruenn, Victoria Vinci – (All Liberty Bank) Front Row (Left to Right) Kelley McGuinness (Liberty Bank), Debra Carson (Liberty Bank), Jessica Condil (Haddam Food Bank), Terry Gowac (Liberty Bank) Holding Check: Travis Tierney & Mya Tierney
