Citizens Bank Donates Backpacks Full of School Supplies at Middlesex YMCA

(Left to Right): Citizens Bank Volunteers Jeff Roy, Chris Migliaro, Kailani Gadlin, and Glenn Taylor and Michele Rulnick, Middlesex YMCA CEO smile with preschoolers from the Phelps Ingersoll for Children at Middlesex YMCA after they received their new backpacks.

Smiles went across the faces of new kindergarten students as they received backpacks filled with school supplies on August 18 donated by Citizens Bank. The backpacks were donated as part of the Great for Grades program, which collects school supplies for elementary school students that might otherwise not have the needed supplies.

“At Citizens Bank we always try our best to work with youth because they are an essential part of our community,” said Glenn A. Taylor, Site Manager at Citizens Bank in Main Street Middletown. “It always a bright spot when you see a child smile"

In addition to the supplies donated by Citizens Bank, supplies were collected in the lobbies of Middlesex YMCA, and were collected outside of Walmart in Cromwell, CT. The supplies were first given to preschoolers at the Phelps Ingersoll Center for Children at Middlesex YMCA who are entering kindergarten, and then will be given to elementary schools throughout the greater Middletown area.

“My wife was a kindergarten teacher for years, and knows that budgets are tight for schools and for families so it means a lot to give children a fresh start before the head off to the classroom,” said Taylor.