12/11/2013
Citizens Bank Foundation provides $5,000 grant to First Ward Action Council
Grant supports the Home Repair Service for Seniors program which provides home repairs to low- to moderate-income seniors throughout Broome County
Binghamton, N.Y. (December 11, 2013) – The Citizens Bank Foundation announced today that it has donated $5,000 to First Ward Action Council, Inc. to support its Home Repair Service for Seniors program, which provides home repairs to low- and moderate-income seniors in order to rehabilitate aging housing and help seniors preserve their independence and their longevity of life in their home. The grant is part of the Foundation’s “Citizens Helping Citizens Provide Shelter” initiative.
“Affordable housing has long been a priority giving area of the Citizens Bank Foundation,” said James P. Gaspo, president of Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, New York. “First Ward Action Council is helping many seniors throughout Broome County make necessary repairs to their homes and to do so affordably. This home repair assistance will enable them to stay in their homes, and keep them safe in their homes by addressing safety issues.”
Through the program, labor is provided free of charge and seniors are only responsible for the cost of repair materials. More than 61 percent of the county’s residential structures were built before 1960 and 24 percent of the county’s homes are owned by those 65 years of age or over who are primarily living on Social Security income alone.
“We are grateful to have Citizens Bank Foundation’s support for this important project,” said Jerry Willard, Executive Director of First Ward Action Council. “These repairs help to rehabilitate aging housing stock throughout the county, and also help to preserve the independence of our aging residents, allowing them to live as long as possible in their homes.”
Citizens Helping Citizens Provide Shelter is part of the bank’s broader Citizens Helping Citizens program addressing five key areas: hunger, housing, economic development, financial education and volunteerism. Get more information about Citizens Bank’s community initiatives online at www.citizensbank.com/community.
About Citizens Helping Citizens
Grounded in the belief that a good bank gives back to its community and to the people who live there, Citizens Helping Citizens is a program embracing the community goals of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. – the commercial bank holding company serving consumer and small business customers as Citizens Bank and Charter One and commercial banking customers as RBS Citizens. The Citizens Helping Citizens program comprises five key initiatives supported directly by RBSCFG and also by its nonprofit charitable foundations, the Citizens Charitable Foundation, the Citizens Bank Foundation and the Charter One Foundation: Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger, Citizens Helping Citizens Provide Shelter, Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities (economic development), Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management (financial education) and Citizens Helping Citizens Give (volunteerism and colleague charitable donations). Across all of these initiatives, Citizens Helping Citizens strives to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in local communities.
