Danbury, CT. (June 23, 2021) – The Union Savings Bank (USB) Foundation recently awarded $260,000 in funding to 22 organizations in Connecticut as part of the 155-year-old, community bank’s ongoing effort to give back to those it serves.

Award recipients provide a wide-range of services to the community, including: supporting people with disabilities; providing educational and job-training opportunities; cultivating the arts; offering youth developmental activities; addressing low-income housing issues; and providing a wide-range of health services, including helping people with physical, behavioral and mental health conditions, and assisting those in abuse situations.

“The USB Foundation was established to help make a positive, life-changing impact on our community,” said USB President & CEO Cynthia C. Merkle, who also serves as President of the Foundation.  “We’ve worked very hard to provide financial assistance to organizations that provide programs focused on enriching the education of our neighbors in need. We feel that there would be a huge void in our community without the assistance of our 2021 exemplary recipients and we are fortunate to be in a position to support them.”

Organizations receiving 2021 grants are:

• Ability Beyond Located in Bethel, Ability Beyond’s mission is to empower people with disabilities at work, home and in the community.
• After School Arts Program (ASAP!) “ASAP!” is based in Washington Depot and provides creative, hands-on learning through the arts, specifically literary, performing, visual, and culinary programs for pre-k through adult.
• AmeriCares Free Clinics Headquartered in Stamford and serving the towns of Stamford, Danbury, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and surrounding areas, AmeriCares provides free, high-quality healthcare to low-income, uninsured residents in a setting where all are treated with dignity and respect.
• Ann’s Place Located in Danbury and founded in 1991, Ann’s Place provides free programs and services to people with cancer and their loved ones.
• Apex Community Care Through locations in Danbury, New Milford, Torrington, and Waterbury, this 34-year-old organization (formerly AIDS Project Greater Danbury, Inc.) advocates for and provides services to people living with HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance-use disorders, and their families.
• The Arc of the Farmington Valley (Favarh) Favarh was established in 1958 and helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live independent lives.
• Community Culinary School of Northwestern Connecticut This organization provides job training skills focused on working in a professional kitchen and life skills training that includes employment and financial literacy workshops.
• Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) Based in Litchfield and established in 1904, CJR provides residential, education, family support, behavioral and mental health services, and community-based programs that help more than 1,400 children, youth and families annually.
• Danbury Grassroots Academy (DGA) DGA is a free, year-round program serving at-risk students, ages 8-18. Most program participants are the first in their families to graduate from high school and go on to college.
• Danbury Police Activities League (PAL) An independent 501(c)(3) organization offering youth recreational activities, PAL strives “to enable and inspire youth…to have fun, stay active, and develop character building skills.” PAL offers 13 youth development programs for girls and boys.
• Danbury Youth Services (DYS) DYS, founded in 1969, focuses on person-centered prevention and intervention through such programs as Youth and Family Counseling, Youth Employment Services, and Restorative Justice Programs.
• Families Network of Western CT Families Network focuses on child abuse prevention through parent education and support. Its programs are offered to participants at no cost.
• Housatonic Habitat for Humanity Serving Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, Housatonic Habitat for Humanity builds, renovates, and repairs houses that provide affordable homes for under-served, working families.
• Junior Achievement of Greater Fairfield County (JAGFC) JAGFC is dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed. The organization offers programs that focus on financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship.
• Literacy Volunteers on the Green (LVG) Located in New Milford, this organization provides free English literacy instruction to adults in Litchfield and northern Fairfield Counties. LVG is an affiliate of ProLiteracy America and a GuideStar-rated agency.
• Newtown Youth & Family Services A licensed, non-profit mental health clinic and youth service bureau, this 30-year-old organization provides outpatient individual, couples, and family counseling, substance abuse treatment services, and Autism and social skills programs.
• Northwestern Connecticut YMCA The Northwestern Connecticut YMCA operates branches in Torrington, Winsted, and Canaan through which it serves over 9,000 members, annually. The organization focuses on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.
• Pratt Nature Center Located in New Milford, the Pratt Nature Center was founded in 1967 and is a 205-acre wildlife preserve and environmental education center offering hiking, birdwatching, community garden plots, and nature education for all ages.
• The Regional YMCA of Western CT For over 150 years, this organization has focused on the areas of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The Regional YMCA of Western CT reach extends from inner-city to rural and suburban communities across lower Litchfield and northern Fairfield Counties.
• Susan B. Anthony Project (SBAP) Located in Torrington, SBAP is a non-profit domestic and sexual violence crisis center that promotes safety, healing, and growth for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, and advocates for the autonomy of women and the end of interpersonal violence. SBAP serves 20 cities and towns in northwest Connecticut.
• Village Center for the Arts (VCA) VCA is a 21-year-old community arts center located on Milford green. The organization offers educational fine arts and events for all ages and abilities, seven days per week, in over 20 artforms.
• Women’s Center of Greater Danbury Founded in 1975, this organization seeks to “…end the violence against women, men and children…” by providing intervention and support services for those experiencing situations such as domestic violence and sexual assault. Services are offered through three major programs: Domestic Violence Services, Sexual Assault Services, and Resource Services.

About Union Savings Bank Foundation

The USB Foundation was established in 1998 to provide the bank with an additional way to give back to the community. The Foundation focuses on helping programs that educate and enrich the communities that the bank serves. Since its inception, the USB Foundation has donated over $4 million in grants to hundreds of organizations.

About Union Savings Bank

Established in 1866 and headquartered in Danbury, CT, Union Savings Bank is a $2.9 billion mutual bank dedicated to being the bank of choice. As a full-service financial institution, Union Savings Bank provides banking, mortgage, investment, trust and insurance products throughout western Connecticut with 25 offices in Bethel, Brookfield, Canton, Danbury, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Marble Dale, Monroe, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Southbury, Torrington and Washington Depot. The bank provides financial services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government entities through its commercial, residential and consumer lending, corporate services, retail banking and wealth management divisions. Please visit www.unionsavings.com for more information and connect with the bank on LinkedIn. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.  

Community Relations Contact:
Michele Bonvicini
Union Savings Bank
203.830.6045
mbonvicini@unionsavings.com