07/16/2013
Citizens Bank launches annual Gear for Grades initiative to send local children back to school with new backpacks and school supplies
Donation-based program will help 3,000 children in New Hampshire
Program has helped more than 215,000 children across the bank’s footprint since 2003
Manchster, N.H. (July 17, 2013) – As a way to help local children go back to school with the supplies they need to succeed, Citizens Bank will launch its annual Gear for Grades program on Monday, July 22. Customers and the public are welcome to support the initiative by donating new items like pencils, folders, notebooks, rulers and other supplies at any Citizens Bank branch in New Hampshire from July 22 through August 9. This year’s program is in partnership with Child and Family Services of NH, the New Hampshire Union Leader and 95.7 WZID.
The Gear for Grades program is a part of Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities, the bank’s program for contributing to the economic vitality of communities. The Citizens Bank Foundation is donating 3,000 backpacks to the Gear for Grades program. Each backpack will be filled with some of the most needed supplies including child-safe scissors, pencils, pens, erasers, pocket folders, spiral notebooks, crayons, washable markers, rulers, glue sticks, colored pencils, pencil boxes and index cards. Backpacks will be distributed to local children beginning August 23.
“As a company committed to contributing to the health of our local communities, our Gear for Grades program is another way to show our customers that we care, while engaging them in our efforts to support local children,” said Joe Carelli, President, Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, New Hampshire. “Helping children to feel excited and ready for the new school year is a small way that we can invest in our communities’ future. We thank everyone who will join us in supporting this year’s Gear for Grades program.”
According to a National Retail Federation survey, the average American family will spend $688.62 on back-to-school expenses, up from $603.63 last year. For low-income, at-risk or homeless families, the cost of even basic school supplies can be a burden.
“There are so many children in our state whose families lack the financial resources to purchase the most essential supplies for school,” said Maria Gagnon, Vice President and COO, Child and Family Services. “Every child deserves to have the best chance for success in the classroom and our partnership with Citizens Bank and its Gear for Grades program will help to make that a reality for thousands of children in New Hampshire.”
Child and Family Services will distribute backpacks to children it serves and has identified additional youth programs across the state that will receive the filled backpacks and distribute them to children who need these supplies the most. The New Hampshire Union Leader and 95.7 WZID are promoting Gear for Grades and encouraging readers and listeners to donate supplies.
“We firmly believe in supporting educational programs and are proud to partner with Citizens Bank on Gear for Grades,” said Shannon Sullivan, Community Relations Manager, New Hampshire Union Leader. "All children should have access to basic school supplies and this program ensures that they do. We invite our readers across the state to support Gear for Grades by visiting a local Citizens Bank branch to donate new school supplies that will make a big difference to thousands of children.”
WZID will support Gear for Grades with public services announcements to encourage listeners to donate supplies. It will also host a live broadcast on August 6 outside the Citizens Bank branch at Walmart in Amherst, where the public can drop off school supplies from 4 pm to 6 pm.
“We are pleased to once again support Citizens Bank in its effort to collect much-needed school supplies for children across the state,” said Ray Garon, WZID President and General Manager. “We’re happy to get the word out about this important program by encouraging our listeners to make a donation at their local Citizens Bank branch to help get the school year off to a good start for local kids.”
Through the Gear for Grades program, more than 38,000 backpacks will be distributed across the RBS Citizens Financial Group’s (RBSCFG) footprint, through Citizens Bank branches in New England and the Mid-Atlantic and Charter One locations in the Midwest. Last year, RBSCFG colleagues volunteered at more than 75 events to stuff 28 tons of supplies into backpacks for donation. Since 2003, RBSCFG has provided more than 215,000 children with new backpacks and school supplies.
Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities 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.
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.
About Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 80 branches and 202 ATMs in New Hampshire.
RBS Citizens, N.A., is a subsidiary of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., 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 is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG’s website iscitizensbank.com.
