JANUARY 15, 2002

People's Launches Mentoring Program
For Connecticut's Young People

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
People's Bank is launching a program that will make a positive impact in the lives of young people across Connecticut while paying dividends for the business community. The program, called TeamPeople's Youth Mentoring, will be kicked off on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at People's Bridgeport Center headquarters, but close to 100 People's employees throughout the state are participating in the program.

TeamPeople's Youth Mentoring is a joint venture of the Connecticut Mentoring Partnership and Big Brothers/Big Sisters chapters across Connecticut which have worked to train People's employees and match mentors with students in communities across the state.

The Connecticut Mentoring Partnership is a program of the Governor's Prevention Partnership. John A. Klein, People's president and chief executive officer, co-chairs the Governor's Prevention Partnership and is a strong advocate of mentoring.

''Statistics show that the consistent presence of a caring adult makes a young person less likely to use drugs, less likely to skip school and substantially more likely to finish school and go on to college -- outcomes that enhance that person's chances of succeeding in life,'' Klein said.

Mentoring helps the business community by maximizing the number of well-educated, responsible young people entering the work force, which is vital to the future of the state's economy. In addition, employees who mentor feel good about positively impacting young people's lives, become more productive at work and experience higher levels of job satisfaction, which leads to improved employee retention.

''At the end of the day, mentoring works,'' Klein said. ''It helps our young people and it is good business.''

As part of TeamPeople's Youth Mentoring, bank employees will have one hour each work week set aside to meet with their mentees and will be free to help with homework, discuss issues or consider future employment and educational opportunities.

The mentoring sessions will take place at various locations around the state. In Bridgeport, for example, the weekly mentoring sessions will be held in the cafeteria at People's Bridgeport Center headquarters, where children ages 8 to 10 will be brought by bus from a local community center. In other areas, People's employees will visit their mentees at local schools.

People's (peoples.com) is a diversified financial services company providing commercial, consumer, insurance and investment services. Founded in 1842, it is the largest state-chartered bank in Connecticut with managed assets of $13 billion, 148 branches and 220 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation's 15th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.