Liberty Bank Foundation to Match up to $200,000

Liberty Bank announced today that it is once again teaming up with the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC) and 45 Rotary Clubs to raise funds for local families in need this Thanksgiving. The drive starts Tuesday, October 3 at 9 a.m. and concludes Monday, November 13 at 3 p.m.

In addition to providing warm meals this holiday, donations made to the 20th Annual Liberty Bank-Rotary Club-CFMC Thanksgiving Drive will help stock local food pantry shelves in preparation for the winter months. Funds will be accepted online on the CFMC’s website (www.middlesexcountycf.org) or by mailing a check to the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, 49 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457 with the name of the benefitting Rotary Club in the memo line starting Monday, October 3.

All Liberty Bank locations will be promoting the drive and encouraging individuals to support it by making a donation online. The Bank’s Foundation will provide matching funds up to $200,000, and all donations will be mailed by the CFMC to nonprofits selected by the Rotaries that are providing Thanksgiving meals in their communities.

“Thanks to a generous community, along with the steadfast leadership of the Rotarians and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, together we are continuing the tradition of providing thousands of Thanksgiving meals to families who are struggling to make ends meet and need our support,” said David W. Glidden, President & CEO of Liberty Bank and President of the Liberty Bank Foundation. “This strong partnership, combined with our Be Community Kind brand promise and Rotary Clubs’ Service Above Self motto, is helping tackle hunger, improving lives throughout our communities, and giving more deserving families a holiday to remember.”

The Liberty Bank/Rotary Club Thanksgiving Dinner Drive began with the Middletown Rotary Club, which originally conducted its own fundraising drive to provide food for needy families on Thanksgiving.  In 2004, the Club approached Liberty about partnering to expand the project to support Liberty’s entire service area.

Last year, in partnership with 45 local Rotary Clubs and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC), over $917,000 was raised to ensure that families in the communities served by the Bank can enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

Liberty Bank Foundation

Since its inception in 1997, the Liberty Bank Foundation has awarded over $16 million in grants to nonprofit organizations within Liberty Bank’s market area.  The foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for people of low or moderate income by investing in three areas:  education to promote economic success for children and families; affordable housing; and nonprofit capacity building. 

Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC)

Community Foundation of Middlesex County’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of the County now and in the future by developing endowments, making grants that have impact, and assisting donors in meeting their philanthropic objectives.

Rotary: Service Above Self

Rotary is a global network of more than 1.2 million volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.  There are 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.  As signified by the motto “Service Above Self,” Rotary’s main objective is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.