Cambridge, MA Throughout the month of December, East Cambridge Savings Bank reached out to the community to assist those who lost their homes and businesses locally due to the 10-alarm fire in East Cambridge on December 3. Several employees of the bank came forward with names of friends, neighbors and customers who had lost everything. The bank adopted five families and supplied them with basic necessities.

A team of bank employees went out on an assignment to shop for necessities for all of these families. Items needed included bedding, appliances, clothes and toys. The families were invited to the main office of the bank on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Each family was greeted by bank employees, given their requested items and also given a special gift basket.

“This was one of the many ways for us to give back to the community,” said president and CEO Gilda Nogueira, “We are thrilled to be able to help these families. To hear their stories and be able to help goes beyond words.”

On Wednesday, Dec.14, employees of East Cambridge Savings Bank made a special lunch delivery to the Cambridge Firefighters who directly helped with the East Cambridge fire. The lunches were delivered to Inman Sq. Fire Station, Lafayette Fire Station and East Cambridge Fire Station. Later in the week, several employees from the bank also delivered breakfast items, coffee and pizzas to fire departments in Arlington, Belmont, Chelsea, Medford, Saugus, Somerville and Waltham who also helped.

“We stand behind the community that we call home and we wanted to extend our gratitude to all of the firefighters who worked endlessly that day,” said Nogueira.

East Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service, mutually-held savings bank that believes in connecting with customers. The bank was established in 1854 and is dedicated to providing businesses and individuals with a full line of banking services in the communities it serves. Headquartered in Cambridge, the bank has offices in Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Chelsea, Medford, Somerville, and Waltham, as well as an educational training facility at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge, Mass. The bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF) of Massachusetts.