06/28/2010
Citizens Bank contributes $25,000 to Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education program
Donation supports new tennis camps that serve 3,500 youths in Philadelphia and Camden
PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2010) - Citizens Bank announced today that it is donating $25,000 to sponsor the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education program. The funding will enable the National Junior Tennis League tennis camp to expand to three new locations and help bolster the organization’s annual fundraising program.
“We are proud to partner with the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education program,” said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, Citizens Bank President and CEO for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “Underscoring our belief that ‘Good Banking is Good Citizenship’, these new tennis camps will provide children with great opportunities to learn and to have fun. Citizens Bank believes it’s important to support programs that help children and families in underserved communities.”
The Citizens Bank donation was presented on the first day of tennis camp at AAYTE’s Bill Johnson NJTL site located at 53rd and Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia. In addition, the contribution will fund two other AAYTE NJTL sites located at Fern Hill Park in Germantown and Wissinoming Playground in Frankford. The tennis camps run from June 28 to August 12 and serve approximately 3,500 youths ages 7-18. Students receive tennis instruction and participate in weekly organized competition, including competitive match play at 43 recreation centers in the greater Philadelphia region and Camden.
“Arthur Ashe offers more than just tennis – it teaches life skills, leadership development, and serves as a mentorship program for our youth,” said Henri Moore, Senior Vice President and Director of Public Affairs for Citizens Bank, who also served as vice chair of AAYTE’s 2010 annual fundraiser. “Campers will also have the chance to participate in an essay contest, among other activities.”
“We can’t say enough about the contribution Citizens Bank is making toward our program,” said Kenny Holdsman, President of Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education. “The donation is opening up three new camps and new opportunities for more local young people to develop as athletes, students, and human beings in our signature NJTL program.”
The NJTL program is coordinated by Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The tennis camps are conducted every summer at a nominal fee to participants at 43 playgrounds and recreation centers throughout Philadelphia, Camden, NJ, and Norristown and Ardmore in Montgomery County. In addition to tennis instruction and team competition, the NJTL program provides a weekly curriculum that teaches skills that apply to everyday life. Topics include handling peer pressure, appreciating diversity, having integrity, and setting reachable goals.
Children are grouped according to their ability within their age group. Beginners meet daily from 9 a.m. to noon for instruction and match play, while intermediate and advanced players meet daily from 1-4 p.m. All participants are supplied with tennis racquets, tennis balls and T-shirts.
About Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania is a state-chartered bank with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It has 383 branches and 657 ATMs throughout Pennsylvania. It also operates 15 retail branches and 65 ATMs in southern New Jersey and a commercial loan office in Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $144 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I.
Citizens Financial Group, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,500 branches, and approximately 3,500 ATMs and approximately 22,700 employees. CFG’s 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. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
About Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education
The mission of AAYTE is to create opportunities for a diverse cross-section of young people, especially those from under-resourced families and communities, to make positive choices in their lives, remain in and succeed in school, reject violence and other risky behaviors, and grow into active, responsible and productive citizens. It works to achieve these goals through innovative tennis instruction, education, life skills, and leadership development programming in neighborhoods throughout the Philadelphia area and at Ashe.
AAYTE annually provides qualified instructors, sports equipment, and positive opportunities to more than 6,500 children in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, most of whom participate at little or no cost through its after-school and the NJTL outdoor summer program. Using tennis as the primary motivator, the programs teach positive, rewarding lessons, build confidence, and provide a framework of personal discipline.
