May 23, 2017
By Howard French
Many of KeyBank’s local branches will close at noon Wednesday so close to 300 employees can volunteer with a variety of nonprofit groups, bank officials said Monday.
KeyBank’s annual “Neighbors Make the Difference Day” gives thousands of bank employees paid time off to work with organizations and projects “that help stabilize our neighborhoods and support our community,” Jeff L. Hubbard, president of KeyBank’s Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Market, said.
The Connecticut employees will volunteer a total of over 1,120 hours, he added.
Although most Connecticut KeyBank offices will close at noon Wednesday, branches that will remain open normal hours include those in Coventry, Mansfield, Tolland, and Vernon, and on Silver Lane in East Hartford and Main Street in Glastonbury.
Customers will have access to ATMs, as well as online and mobile banking.
Volunteers will take part in projects such as assisting in outdoor clean up, gardening, and cabin set up in Andover at the Channel 3 Kids Camp, taking dogs for a walk and cleaning up the facility at East Hartford’s Pack Leaders Dog Rescue of Connecticut, and assisting with office projects, including costume inventory and folder assembly, for Manchester’s CAST Children’s Theater.
Volunteers also will do yard work and painting at MARC Inc of Manchester, will assist in yard cleanup of elders housing for the South Windsor Senior Center, and assist in garden preparation at Vernon’s Strong Family Farm.
The “Neighbors Make the Difference Day” event started in 1991, with a group of KeyBank employees in Alaska.
For details about KeyBank’s philanthropic and volunteer programs visit
KeyCorp, KeyBank’s Cleveland, Ohio-based corporate parent, expanded in the Connecticut market in 2016 when it acquired New York-based First Niagara Bank in a cash and stock transaction worth about $4.1 billion.