WATERBURY - Webster Bank, a regional bank serving businesses and consumers in the Northeast, recently awarded grants to 80 nonprofit organizations - for a total of $80,000 - as part of its employee volunteer campaign to help celebrate the bank's 80th anniversary.

The banker volunteer initiative, "80 Days of Giving," was launched October 11, 2015, and offered bankers the opportunity to earn $1,000 for the nonprofit of their choice. It also helped to increase Webster's annual volunteer hours from 110,000 to 125,000.

A luncheon was held on May 6 the Radisson Cromwell Hotel in Cromwell for honorees and organizational leaders to receive their awards. Among those honored was Newtown Youth & Family Services (NYFS).

Sergio DaSilveria and the staff from Webster Bank in Danbury volunteered to support NYFS.

"As a nonprofit we rely heavily on volunteers and the Webster Team was a big part of our success and understands the mission of our agency," said Candice Bohr, executive director of NYFS.

Kathy Luria, senior vice president-philanthropy at Webster, said Webster bankers participated in the initiative across six states, with family, friends and co-workers.

"We are so fortunate to have bankers who believe in the impact that their volunteer work can have on the communities they serve," Ms Luria said. "By embracing this program in the way that they did, the positive results will go far beyond our financial investment. We are humbled by their generosity of time and are truly honored to recognize them in this way."

Webster's anniversary celebration kicked off in October 2015 to mark 80 years since its founding in a small office in Waterbury during the Great Depression.