Citizens Bank launches Gear for Grades initiative in Philadelphia
Program collects school supplies at Citizens Bank branches to fill new backpacks for financially disadvantaged children in PhiladelphiaPHILADELPHIA, PA. (July 21, 2008) - Citizens Bank announced today that for the fourth year it will conduct its Gear for Grades initiative for low-income children in Philadelphia, once again in partnership with Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham's Urban Genesis Foundation; the Philadelphia Business Journal; and Power 99 FM.
The initiative to collect school supplies, formerly called Tools for School, begins Monday, July 21, 2008 and will end on Friday, August 8, 2008.
“'Gear for Grades' is an important initiative. It is one way we can all help low income children begin the school year on a positive note by providing them with much-needed school supplies,” said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, Citizens Bank's President and CEO for Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “Citizens Bank is joining forces and partnering with Urban Genesis, the Philadelphia Business Journal and Power 99 FM. We hope that by combining our resources, we'll be able to collect more school supplies than ever before to help our children get a head start on the new school year.”
New school supplies can be dropped off at all Citizens Bank branches in the Philadelphia area and at the District Attorney's office at 3 Penn Square in Philadelphia. The donated supplies will then be stuffed into 1,000 logo-free backpacks purchased by Citizens Bank. The backpacks and school supplies will be distributed to children through local community groups. The goal of this program is to encourage a positive attitude toward school by helping each student start the year with the supplies necessary to achieve success.
New school supplies needed include: pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, plastic rulers, erasers and safety scissors. A more comprehensive list is available at any Citizens Bank branch.
Anyone interested in participating in the program can donate new school supplies at collection bins located at each of Citizens Bank's branches in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.
Volunteers will sort the supplies and stuff the backpacks at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office from August 18 to 22, 2008. The backpacks will be donated to children through various nonprofit agencies the last week of August.
About Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania is a state-chartered bank with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It has approximately 400 branches and more than 660 ATMs throughout Pennsylvania. It also operates 15 retail branches and 32 ATMs in southern New Jersey and a commercial loan office in Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $160 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I.
Citizens Financial Group, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,600 branches, 3,500 ATMs and 24,000 employees. CFG's two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 13-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
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