09/22/2013
RBS Citizens Financial Group recognizes Hunger Action Month with pledge to provide 4.5 million meals to food banks by year end
3 million meals already delivered to local food organizations in 2013
Providence, RI (September 23, 2013) – To observe Hunger Action Month, RBS Citizens Financial Group (RBSCFG) today announced its goal of providing 4.5 million meals to local food organizations across the bank’s footprint by year end. As part of Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger, the bank’s program to help eradicate hunger in local communities served by Citizens Bank and Charter One, RBSCFG has provided more than 3 million meals to date.
“Hunger is a daily concern for many people. During Hunger Awareness Month, we are making a commitment to fund an additional 1.5 million meals to bring attention to this basic issue,” said Barbara Cottam, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs, RBS Citizens Financial Group. “This pledge is part of our Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger year-long effort, and follows a summer focus on hunger programs, as summer is a particularly challenging time for people who don’t have dependable access to nutritious meals – especially children who rely on school lunch programs during the school year.”
RBSCFG also encourages colleagues to volunteer with food organizations and other nonprofit partners through Citizens Helping Citizens Give, its program for colleague volunteerism and colleague donations. The company anticipates colleagues will have volunteered an additional 1,500 hours to food organizations by the end of 2013. To help food programs keep their shelves stocked this summer, RBSCFG colleagues donated food totaling nearly 4,200 meals during the company’s 19th annual Colleague Appreciation Week in June.
Hunger Action Month was first launched in 2012 by Feeding America, a network of more than 200 food banks and food rescue programs. Hunger Action Month helps raise awareness around hunger relief and encourages Americans to take action against hunger.
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 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 charitable donations). Across all of these initiatives, Citizens Helping Citizens strives to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in local communities.
About RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc
RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $118 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has approximately 1,400 branches, nearly 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 is citizensbank.com.
