News - 09/14/2011

PeoplesBank "Top Corporate Charitable Contributor" for Fourth Year

PeoplesBank employees’ contributions and volunteering efforts achieve top-five ranking by Boston Business Journal.

Holyoke, MA (September 14, 2011) – For the fourth year in a row, the Boston Business Journal recognized PeoplesBank as being a top corporate charitable contributor. The bank was ranked 38^th on the list which included Microsoft, CVS and Procter & Gamble Gillette amongst others. Yet, that was not necessarily the highest honor bestowed on that bank at the recent Corporate Citizenship Summit. The Boston Business Journal also ranked PeoplesBank employees as third for most generous employees and fourth for volunteer hours donated to civic and charitable causes.

“It’s encouraged here at the bank,” noted Joseph Zazzaro, First Vice President, CIO at PeoplesBank. “We are always encouraged to get involved with our community, and for me it was very easy to do that in my home community of Westfield. I volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of Westfield, and I have had the opportunity to get very involved with the club. By volunteering and working with kids, I know that I am making a big difference in their lives, and I know that other people here are getting the same satisfaction by working in the communities as they do. A passion for what is possible is more than a tagline, it’s what we live by every single day.”

Recently, PeoplesBank announced a comprehensive, coordinated tornado relief plan that combined $200,000 in targeted financial support and a variety of volunteer efforts. The plan was developed in the immediate aftermath of the June 1 tornado that devastated numerous communities in western Massachusetts. To develop the plan, bank officials reached out to civic leaders and leading non-profit organizations in the community to find out how the bank could best help in the short and long term.

“The tornado had a very devastating impact on Square One,” stated Kimberly Lee, Vice President of Advancement at Square One, an early education and care organization in Springfield, Massachusetts. ”All of our administrative offices and our Main Street early education center were lost. We knew it was critical that we got our children back together and quickly. It was because of contributions like the $25,000 gift that was made by PeoplesBank that Square One was able to accommodate those children so very quickly.”

As part of its commitment to area tornado relief, the bank also implemented an $80,000 program to replant trees in five of the impacted communities. “As we turn from recovery to rebuilding, our environment will also need help to recuperate,” stated Douglas A. Bowen, President and CEO of PeoplesBank. “Replanting trees, as we repair our homes and reopen our businesses, will be another sign of our perseverance and resurgence as a community.”

A photo set of PeoplesBank's civic and charitable engagements is available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bankatpeoples/sets/72157624975492900/

PeoplesBank is the largest mutually chartered bank in western Massachusetts and a leader in green values, sustainable energy financing, and charitable giving. Founded in 1885, the bank takes its responsibility to the environment seriously and has financed more than $40 million in wind, hydroelectric and solar energy projects in recent years and currently has an additional $15 million worth of projects in the pipeline. In addition to its LEED® Certified office in Springfield and LEED® Registered office in West Springfield, PeoplesBank will build a green office in Northampton in the near future. PeoplesBank – a passion for what is possible^sm.

For Immediate Release
For More Information, Please Contact:
Susan B. Wilson, Vice President of Marketing
(413) 493-7592; swilson(at)bankatpeoples(dot)com