The Hartford annual giving tradition

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- There was an annual tradition of giving today at the Hartford. Employees brought in gifts from some very special lists from some of the Hartford area's most needy families.

"Those are people who are formerly homeless, many of them suffer from mental illness, very low income. Without these gifts they very likely wouldn't have a christmas gift," Deborah Ullman of the YWCA Hartford Region said.

All of the gifts here were chosen from lists made by those families for things many of us take for granted.

"Families that have to choose between food or toys," Galo Rodriguez of Village for families and children in Hartford said.  

It might be a coffee pot, it might be a radio, it might be an mp3 player, it might be a new quilt for their bed, but it is something that will be in their apartment. It will belong to them that's brand new.

Because of the giving here more than 400 families will have something to brigten up their holiday and the people giving these gifts say this day has become a big part of their holiday season.

"The Hartford cares about its customers, it cares about its reputation, and it cares about the communities in which it works," Alan Kreczko the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of The Hartford said.

The Hartford is doing the same at other locations around the country.