OAKVILLE, Conn., August 8,
2016 – Alison Skratt, a
resident of Oakville, Connecticut and vice president, corporate communications
at Webster Bank, is one
of the winners of Webster's "80 Days of Giving" volunteer award. This
is part of Webster's 80th Anniversary celebration that winds down
this October. Skratt's work helped earn
$1,000 for the nonprofit of her choice – the Wellmore Behavioral Health's Women
& Children's Program in Waterbury.
Despite
efforts to educate the public on the far-reaching nature of mental health
struggles — and the often-connected issue of substance abuse — sufferers still
face a stigma from society.
"As a
result, their families often remain silent on the issue, creating the illusion
that these challenges are ‘for other people,'" said Skratt. "The truth of the
matter is that just about everyone can name a family member who has struggled
with at least one of these challenges, including me. So I decided to use ‘80
Days of Giving' to add my voice to the conversation."
Skratt and
her 12-year-old son Ben spent the morning of Dec. 28 volunteering at the
residential treatment program for pregnant women or women with one pre-school
aged child. The program provides on-site
child care, 24-hour treatment services by professionals, and culturally
sensitive staff trained in issues of domestic violence and trauma. They cleaned
toys in the playroom, as well as the kitchen and dining room, doorknobs, high
chairs and booster seats to help reduce the spread of colds and flu.
They also
spent quite a bit of time playing with a 4-year-old boy whose mother was in the
program and who quickly took a liking to Ben. "It was both heart-warming and
heart-breaking to see him embrace Ben as a new playmate and begin using him as
a role model, copying each new thing he saw Ben do," Skratt said. "I knew that
after we left, he would return to a reality where his non-family role models
were quite different."
"A member
of my family has struggled with mental health issues most of their life,"
Skratt shared. "We volunteered with Wellmore's program because this
family member faced significant challenges with their children, and I'd like to
think that maybe things would have turned out differently if they had had
access to similar services."
This
volunteer effort was one of many that have been submitted to the 80
Days of Giving Program which was launched October 11, 2015. In all, 103 bankers nominated volunteer
activities to receive one of the 80 grants.
The breadth and impact of participation stimulated even greater
community involvement by Webster bankers who now contribute more than 125,000 volunteer
hours annually. Webster Bank is a
leading regional bank serving businesses and consumers in the northeast.
About Webster
Webster Financial
Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With
$25.1 billion in assets, Webster provides business and consumer banking,
mortgage, financial planning, trust, and investment services through 176 banking
centers and 349 ATMs. Webster also
provides telephone banking, mobile banking, and Internet banking. Webster Bank
owns the asset-based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation; the
equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance Corporation; and HSA Bank, a
division of Webster Bank, which provides health savings account trustee and
administrative services. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal
housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press
releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.