December 5, 2005

PEOPLE'S BANK TO SPONSOR "DNA" CHILD SAFETY DAY IN GREENWICH

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - As the holiday season gets under way, People's Bank would like to present parents with an opportunity to give their child the gift of safety by holding "Child Safety Day" at its new Cos Cob branch, located at 119 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob. The event, to take place Saturday, December 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., will feature People's Bank staff and Greenwich police officers distributing Child Identification and DNA kits.

The staff will take photographs of children to be placed in the kits which also include space for a lock of the child's hair which can be used for DNA identification, fingerprints, dental records and medical history. Completed kits could prove useful to law enforcement officials in the event a child is separated from his/her parents.

The partnership between People's Bank and the Greenwich Police Department will help to keep local children safe. "We fully support any program that assists parents in keeping updated and accurate photos, fingerprints and DNA profiles of their children to be available in case of emergency," said Greenwich Chief of Police James A. Walters.

"We want children to be safe not only during the holidays, but all year-round. There's no better time of the year than now to give your child the gift of safety which never goes out of style or loses its importance," said Stephen Shealy, People's Bank vice president and market manager for the Greenwich market.

Founded in 1842, People's Bank (peoples.com) is one of Connecticut's largest banks with assets of $11 billion, more than 240 ATMs and 154 branches, 70 of which offer convenient seven-day banking in Super Stop & Shop locations across the state. A diversified financial services company, People's Bank provides consumer, commercial, insurance, retail investment and trust services to personal and business banking customers. People's Bank is the official banking partner of the University of Connecticut Division of Athletics. For more information about People's, its products and services, please call 800-772-1090, visit peoples.com or any of People's branches.