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Stamford-based Webster Bank has provided a $100,000 grant to fund a finance lab at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club’s new Bridgeport location.
The Webster/Wakeman Boys & Girls Club Finance Lab will provide students in Wakeman’s service area with opportunities to gain skills needed for economic empowerment and financial success, Webster Bank said in a statement.
Webster Bank has opened two finance labs in Yonkers and the Bronx, New York. The bank said it has plans for several finance lab within its footprint.
The finance labs are designed to help nonprofits in low-to-moderate income communities expand financial empowerment opportunities for youth, Webster said. The program with the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club was funded by a $100,000 grant from the Webster Bank Charitable Foundation.
“Our partnership is the first of several Webster will fund in New England, furthering our commitment to providing students a unique opportunity to learn about finance, foster youth leadership and build our future workforce,” Marissa Weidner, chief corporate responsibility officer, said in the statement.
Known as the Madison Avenue Clubhouse, the Wakeman facility in Bridgeport will provide youth services in the North End/Hollow area of Bridgeport to more than 1,000 children each year. The children will come from nine area schools, where 98 percent of students are eligible for free lunch, 54 percent of students live in single-parent homes and 89 percent of students are a minority, according to the statement.
“We are incredibly grateful to have Wakeman Boys & Girls Club’s Madison Avenue Community Clubhouse selected as the site of Connecticut’s first Webster Finance Lab,” Sabrina Smeltz, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club CEO, said in the statement. “The Finance Lab will provide Bridgeport’s children and teens with insight into careers in finance, allow them to connect with finance professionals, and learn the critical skills necessary to be fiscally responsible. This partnership with Webster truly supports our goal to ‘Build Great Futures’”
Webster said its volunteer initiatives will also have a role in the partnership with the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club.
