05/20/2020

Citizens Bank Recognizes Eight ‘Small Business Community Champions’ for Making Local Economies and Communities Stronger

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Citizens Bank today announced its annual Small Business Community Champion Award winners in Greater Boston, Greater Cleveland, Greater Philadelphia and Greater Pittsburgh. A $20,000 prize and a $10,000 prize were awarded in each market to small business owners to celebrate the extraordinary contributions they make to strengthen their communities. This is the third annual Citizens Bank Small Business Community Champion Award, which recognizes the impact of small businesses on the communities they serve.

The 2020 Citizens Bank Small Business Community Champion Award winners and their proposed initiatives are:

  • Always Here Home Care, Inc., (Boston, MA), an elder care provider that helps its caregivers increase their earning potential through job experience, childcare assistance and education.
  • Wicked Cool For Kids, (Peabody, MA), an education company that specializes in customized enrichment programs in science, art, and technology for kids through 5th grade.
  • Andreoli Restoration, (Cleveland, OH), a restoration company currently returning a vacant building into a useable space which will also provide for community live-music nights, interactive art, training workshops, and community meals.
  • Farian Cosmetic and Family Dentistry, (Macedonia, OH), a dental practice that volunteers its services by providing free sports guards to high school athletes to help prevent injury.
  • Vitris, (Philadelphia, PA), a web design firm that provides small business owners with the tools needed to compete and succeed, and will offer its services free of charge to local low-income small business owners throughout the Philadelphia area that are minority and/or woman owned.
  • Common Ground Management, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA), a community-mission organization that has assisted more than 5,000 businesses nationwide establish themselves, grow and employ more members of the community.
  • G.I Haul LLC, (Pittsburgh, PA), with a mission of increasing veteran business ownership, this full service junk and waste removal company puts veterans to work and helps them transition to ownership of a franchised business.
  • Professional Barber Institute, (Pittsburgh, PA), provides affordable and accessible barber and entrepreneurial training to under-served residents in Pittsburgh's East End community. PBI's training is essential to creating a path for its students to achieve self-sufficiency.

“While we have been honored to offer the Small Business Champion program for the past several years, the need to support such businesses takes on an additional resonance in light of the ongoing situation,” said Jack Murphy, president of Citizens Bank Business Banking. “While they are referred to as ‘small,’ their impact is in fact much larger – enabling substantial growth, building vibrant communities, offering opportunity for employees – touching virtually every aspect of our nation’s economic and social well-being. Citizens Bank is especially proud to support this year’s winners as they continue their mission and congratulates them on their outstanding work.”

For more information, please visit www.citizensbank.businesschampion.dja.com

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $176.7 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 2,800 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.