Investors Bank Presents Renovated Chatham Branch at VIP Event
Bank will honor John Taylor Babbitt Foundation for its Many Achievements
Contact Scott Agnoli, Investors Bank
Published: November 12, 2013, 11:30 AM

Chatham, New Jersey (November 6, 2013) – The dedicated team at Investors Bank’s branch in Chatham Borough will celebrate 17 years of service to the community and unveil its completely renovated banking space during a VIP Event on Tuesday evening, November 12.

Located at 169 Main Street, the Chatham branch will acknowledge its many loyal customers and recognize the alliances Investors has built with local nonprofit groups. For example, the branch supports the Chatham Education and Athletic Foundations, houses of worship, and youth sports leagues. At the VIP reception, the branch will honor the John Taylor Babbitt (JTB) Foundation, which is based in Chatham. The JTB Foundation has achieved notable success building broad public awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and the organization’s board and members of the Babbitt family will attend the event celebrating the Foundation’s achievements.

In discussing Investors role in the community, Chatham Manager Jill Gregg said, “We build relationships here by joining local organizations, participating in their programs and supporting their fundraising efforts. In addition to delivering superior banking services, our mission is to make a positive difference in the community by finding creative ways to assist nonprofits that are helping people in many productive ways.”

During the VIP event, customers, area businesses, and community leaders can talk with the Investors’ team and see the new space. The open-design interior is brighter with a color scheme in keeping with the Investors’ brand. All the elements have been combined to create a relaxed, professional and welcoming feeling in the branch.

Also, the customer seating area is one of the branch’s focal points. A couch and chairs are arranged under a dome with recessed lighting and in front of the Investors Bank Community Wall that features a vintage, mural-size photograph of Main Street circa 1928. Adjoining this area are the offices for customer meetings. In addition, for customers who use the drive-through banking lanes, there is now a 24-hour drive-up ATM.

Commenting on the new space, Ms. Gregg, who joined the Bank when the branch opened in 1996 and has held a variety of positions since then, explained that Investors is making a long-term commitment to Chatham. “We will continue to enhance our facilities and form alliances with local groups that serve the community.”

For examp

le, the branch has an ongoing relationship with the JTB Foundation, which advocates for the installation of lifesaving, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools, athletic facilities and public places. When life-saving defibrillators can be quickly accessed, just about anyone can use the device to aid a person who is having a sudden cardiac incident.

As part of the Bank’s ongoing alliance with the Foundation, the Chatham branch supports the JBT Foundation’s annual fundraisers. Also, employees from the Bank have participated in the organization’s annual Walk With Heart event.

“We are grateful for Investors Bank’s generous contributions to our mission, which is to focus on three goals: Advocacy, Education, and Defibrillators,” said JoAnne Taylor Babbitt, Vice President of the JTB Foundation. Ms. Babbitt’s son, John Taylor, was 16 years-old when he collapsed and died from an undiagnosed heart condition while playing basketball.

Following their son’s death, the Babbitt family and people in the community formed the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation in his memory. One of the organization’s major accomplishments was securing bi-partisan passage by the New Jersey Legislature of a “Good Samaritan” bill, which Gov. Chris Christie has signed into law. The new law applies to individuals who use automated external defibrillators to save lives of people having a cardiac incident. The new law provides immunity from civil liability for untrained individuals who operate a defibrillator in a medical emergency. New Jersey is the 44th state to have this law.

For more details about Investors’ Chatham branch, contact Branch Manager Jill Gregg at 973.701.1400.

To find out more about the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, visit its website at www.jbtfoundation.org.

About Investors Bank

Investors Bank, headquartered in Short Hills, N.J., is a full-service community bank that has been serving customers since 1926. With over $13.8 billion in assets and a network of over 100 retail branches in New Jersey and New York, Investors delivers personalized services and products tailored to the needs of its customers. For more information, contact Investors at 1.855.422.6548 or visit www.myinvestorsbank.com.

Investors Bank is an equal opportunity lender. Also, individuals can follow Investors Bank on Facebook.

By Matthew Stanmyre mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

From the Chatham Courier

CHATHAM FIELDS ARE SAFER
John Taylor Babbitt Foundation and joint committee funding
By KATE BREX, Editor
Published: Aug 7th, 6:15 AM

CHATHAM – Borough recreation fields are safer for the installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) placed there by the borough’s recreation department and the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation (JTB).

The AEDs were placed at all five recreation fields in the borough.

“We have already installed a good number of AEDs in businesses around town,” said Mayor Nelson Vaughan, who has been trained to use the device. “Now with the addition of these defibrillators at the fields, it will really make a difference. I hope that they never have to be used, but if they are, I hope that they are used effectively. Everyone should be trained in their use.”

The purchase of the devices was a joint effort of the JTB Foundation and the Joint Recreation Committee of the Chathams.
However, the foundation made a substantial donation towards the placement of the AEDs at borough fields as part of its mission to prevent sudden cardiac death.

Both groups worked hand-in-hand with Atlantic HeartSmart AED to complete the project.

“They were critical to the project getting done,” said Joanne Babbitt, vice president of the foundation.

Babbitt, also co-founder of the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, has always wanted to give back to a community that supported her and her family when her son John Taylor suffered sudden cardiac arrest in 2006.

The foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in the memory of John Taylor Babbitt, who was 16 when he collapsed and died at a basketball game at St. Patrick’s Church on Chatham Street from undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

A resident of Chatham, John Babbitt was a junior at the Pingry School in Bernards Township when he died on Feb. 26, 2006. A 2003 graduate of St. Patrick School, he was a member of the Youth Ministry and a member of the football, basketball, soccer and baseball teams at Pingry.

Babbitt said there was no better way to thank the community than installing devices that could save another young person’s life.

“If it hadn’t been for the people of Chatham, we don’t know where we would be,” she said.

The foundation was begun three years ago to keep “young people engaged.”

The easily reached devices are mounted on a pole. When pulled from the pole, the device emits a piercing alarm notifying anyone within range that something has gone wrong. It serves two purposes, alerting people of an emergency and deterring anyone from stealing the device.

The devices, which cost between $1,500 and $2,000, were ordered through Atlantic Health Systems.

In recent year’s, the cost of the AEDs has gone down and the operating simplicity of the device has gone up allowing almost anyone to help in a dire emergency possibly saving someone’s life before help arrives.

The new generation of Automated External Defibrillators “talks” the user through the process.

Babbitt confirmed that the devices are simpler and easier to handle. She also noted that if a member of the public uses the device, the state’s good Samaritan law would kick in.

“However, you have to follow some steps in order to be protected by the law,” she said.

After discussions with the School District of the Chathams, the school district will also begin placement of units at school facilities Chatham Recreation uses.

“The Babbitt Foundation with assistance from Carol Nauta and Tom Denning have identified several school fields used by both school teams and the recreation department for installation of AEDs,” said Superintendent of Schools James O’Neill. “We have agreed to supplement the ones they are installing by putting an additional one at both Cougar and Haas fields. This is a great initiative and we appreciate the efforts of the Babbitt Foundation to do things to help ensure the health and safety of athletes in Chatham. We currently have AEDs in all of our schools and each nurse, as well as, the athletic trainer also have one each.”

Raising Awareness

The third annual “Walk with Heart” to honor John Babbitt and raise funds for the foundation, was held on Sunday, May 17, at The Pingry School in Bernards Township.

More than 400 students and families from the area participated in the event, which raised more than $45,000 for the foundation. At the walk, representatives from Atlantic Health Systems were available and demonstrated the use of the AEDs.

Babbitt said the foundation has underwritten three American Heart Association certified AED training courses and plans to hold more.

Walk with Heart was sponsored by the foundation and organized by students in The Pingry School’s JTB Heart Club as part of the independent senior project.

The day included a three-mile run, three-mile walk, music, food, and prizes.

The foundation is dedicated to the prevention of sudden cardiac death particularly in student athletes. Current foundation initiatives include supporting defibrillator legislation, raising awareness on the prevalence of sudden cardiac death, and working to increase defibrillator availability on local playing fields.

“John’s sudden loss was shocking and tragic,” said his father David Babbitt. “But it is our hope that through the foundation’s activities we can prevent other families from experiencing the pain of losing a child to this disease.”

New Kiosks Offer Helpful Information on Defibrillators, Sudden Cardiac Arrest at Morristown Memorial, Overlook
By Atlantic Health
1/8/2010

From St. Patrick’s Parish Life and Times, May 2008:

“If you’re like most people, you expect each day to be pretty much like the last one. Sure, experiences vary from day to day…some days are good while others leave a lot to be desired. Although you know life isn’t perfect, you kind of assume things will continue on an even keel. What you don’t expect is to experience a life shattering event ? one that, in the blink of an eye, changes you forever.”

Click any Image below to read the article

Article from the Winter 2009 issue of the Pingry Review on the new turf field in honor of John.

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