06/25/2013

RBS Citizens Financial Group announces TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship winners

Forty students across the country awarded a total of $50,000 in college scholarships for community service efforts

$150,000 in college scholarships has been awarded since 2011

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 25, 2013) – RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (RBSCFG) today announced the winners of its third 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. The scholarship program was open to U.S. residents who are 16-years of age or older and are attending or accepted to a federally accredited four-year college, university or graduate program. One winner receives $5,000, four winners each receive $2,500 and 35 winners each receive $1,000.

"We are amazed and inspired once again this year by students who have dedicated so much of their time and energy to helping others in communities across the country," said Brendan Coughlin, President, Education Finance, RBS Citizens Financial Group. "As a private student lender offering affordable solutions to help students finance their college education and a company committed to contributing to the health and vibrancy of our local communities, we are honored to recognize and reward this year’s TruFit Good Citizen Scholarship winners for their efforts."

The top five winners are listed below. All 40 winners are featured on the Citizens Bank and Charter One websites and the Citizens Bank and Charter One Facebook pages:

Grand Prize - $5,000 Scholarship

  • Max Wallack of Massachusetts, founded PuzzlesToRemember, a nonprofit organization that developed therapeutic puzzles for Alzheimer’s patients. He attends Boston University.

1st Prize - $2,500 Scholarship

  • Maren Johnson of South Dakota, collects used soap from hotels to be remade into new bars that the Global Soap Project distributes to vulnerable populations around the world. She will attend Belmont University in Tennessee.
  • Jordyn Schara of Wisconsin, started the first teen-created prescription drug collection program called WI Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal (WI P2D2) as a way to prevent teens from abusing prescription drugs. She will attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
  • Tiffane King of California, volunteers with people who have sustained life-altering injuries and co-founded Pretty F.A.C.E., an organization that provides wigs to cancer patients and burn victims. She attends the University of California, Irvine – School of Law.
  • Lual Awan of Michigan, a former Lost Boy of Sudan, co-founded the Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization, a nonprofit organization that built a health clinic in his village of Maar in South Sudan. He will attend Michigan State University.

In addition to its annual scholarship for college, RBSCFG offers a private student loan for college students. The TruFit Student Loan is available with a fixed or variable rate and flexible repayment terms of five, 10 or 15 years, giving students the choice to select the option that best fits their needs. Borrowers receive interest rate reductions for automating their payments.

Borrowers who complete their TruFit Student Loan application now through August 31, 2013 will receive employee pricing and automatically get a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction for the life of the loan. Customers who open their first Citizens Bank or Charter One personal checking account now through September 30, 2013 can earn a $25 bonus for making at least one single deposit of $250 and 20 debit card payments and purchases in the first 60 days.

As part of its commitment to students, 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 student 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 $126 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has approximately 1,400 branches, more than 3,600 ATMs and nearly 19,000 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's website is citizensbank.com.