01/19/2012
RBS Citizens Financial Group announces TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship winners
Forty students across the country awarded a total of $50,000 in scholarships for community service efforts
Providence, RI (August 8, 2012) - RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (RBSCFG) today announced the winners of its second annual TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship program, awarding a total of $50,000 in college scholarships to 40 students across the country. Started in 2011, RBSCFG created the scholarship program as a way to recognize and reward students whose volunteer efforts have made a lasting impact in their communities.
The 40 winners were chosen based on the responsibility and leadership skills they have demonstrated through their community service. More than 5,000 high school seniors and college students applied for the scholarships. One winner receives $5,000, four winners each receive $2,500 and 35 winners each receive $1,000.
“We received an overwhelming number of applications from students across the nation who are using their talents and their passion for volunteerism to help those in their community who need it most,” said Brendan Coughlin, President of Education Finance, RBS Citizens Financial Group. “Community service is a part of our own culture, so we are excited to be able to celebrate the contributions that these students have made, and to be able to help them cover some of their college expenses. As a private student lender committed to helping students finance their education, we are pleased to reward these students for supporting their communities.”
The top five winners are listed below. All 40 winners are featured on the Citizens Bank Facebook and Charter One Facebook pages:
Grand Prize - $5,000 Scholarship
- Matthew Ferguson of Oregon, created Matt’s Chemo Bags for cancer patients. He attends Northern Arizona University.
1st Prize - $2,500 Scholarship
- Sonya Davis of Louisiana, volunteers with children to improve their academic performance. She attends Southeastern Louisiana University.
- Emily Herrin of Florida, co-founded TOMS Club to help Filipino women feed their families. She attends Lee University.
- Odunola Ojewumi of Maryland, founded Sacred Heart’s Children’s Transplant Foundation that raises awareness about organ donation and supports local public service programs. She attends the University of Maryland.
- Annika Vernon of North Dakota, created the “Pallets-A-Plenty” project that crochets sleeping pallets out of plastic bags for the homeless. She attends Jamestown College.
As part of its commitment to students and making education more affordable, RBSCFG recently announced that its TruFit Student Loan product is available to students who live or attend school outside of the 12 states where it operates as Citizens Bank and Charter One. The TruFit Student Loan is a private student loan available with a fixed or variable rate and flexible repayment terms, giving students the choice to select the option that best fits their needs. RBSCFG offers three repayment choices: immediate, interest-only or deferred until six months after graduation. Borrowers will receive an additional 0.50 percent interest rate reduction for automatic payments from any eligible Citizens Bank or Charter One account or a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction for automatic payments from accounts at other banks.
RBSCFG also offers online tips and tools to help students prepare and save for college as well as find information on how to apply for financial aid, federal and private college loans. The site includes a financing calendar with important dates and deadlines for securing funding and a student loan calculator to help students determine how much they will need to borrow to pay for college and how much they will owe once they graduate.
For more information on the TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship program and the TruFit Student Loan product, please visit RBS Citizens Financial Group online.
About RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $129 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has more than 1,400 branches, approximately 3,700 ATMs and approximately 18,940 colleagues. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-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, Michigan and Ohio. RBSCFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in more than 30 states. RBSCFG is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG’s website is citizensbank.com.
