07/08/2010
Southside Community Land Trust named Champion in Action in the environmental impact category
Nonprofit agency receives unrestricted $25,000 grant, PR and volunteer support
PROVIDENCE, RI (July 08, 2010) - Earlier today, Citizens Bank and NBC 10 named Southside Community Land Trust in Providence as their 2010 third quarter Champion in Action® in the environmental impact category. As part of the award, Southside Community Land Trust will receive a $25,000 unrestricted grant, media coverage and extensive promotional and volunteer support for its outstanding work.
The grant will be used to fund preservation and urban agriculture education, workshops and mentoring programs and to teach sustainable environmental practices at its food gardens and urban farms.
“Citizens Bank is pleased to name Southside Community Land Trust as the newest Champion in Action in the environmental impact category,” said Ned Handy, President, Citizens Bank, Rhode Island. “This award will help Southside Community Land Trust continue to provide environmental benefits and awareness in communities where there is limited access to unpolluted, safe green space.”
“NBC 10 is proud to honor the extraordinary work of Southside Community Land Trust. This organization has been the cornerstone for teaching hundreds of urban residents how to remediate their soil for a healthier environment and we are pleased to name it a Champion in Action,” said Lisa Churchville, President and General Manager of NBC 10.
Launched in 2002, Champions in Action is a joint initiative of Citizens Bank and NBC 10 to recognize and support nonprofit organizations for their contributions to Rhode Island communities. A new Champion in Action is selected each quarter among a range of social service topics.
Southside Community Land Trust provides a wide-array of programs including:
- A Children’s Garden and Youth Garden Club that educates youths to become environmental stewards;
- Support to local food pantries and community partners by donating food produced at their three-quarter acre City Farm and Urban Edge Farm, a 35-acre farm incubator program in Cranston;
- Educational programs to more than 3,000 gardeners to help build stronger neighborhoods and encourage micro-enterprise
As a Champion in Action, Southside Community Land Trust will receive:
- A $25,000 contribution in unrestricted funds from Citizens Bank.
- Media coverage from NBC 10, including public service announcements and television profiles.
- Volunteer support from Citizens and NBC 10 employees.
- Extensive public relations support.
- Promotional support, highlighting the Champion in Action in all Citizens Bank branches and on its ATMs.
- Exposure on both Citizens Bank and NBC 10 Web sites.
“It is a tremendous honor for our organization to be selected as a Champion in Action,” said Katherine Brown, Executive Director of Southside Community Land Trust. “We strive to inspire and support a special kind of environmental stewardship. This award will help us connect people through partnerships with nature to create bountiful food gardens and farms to foster healthier neighborhoods and encourage micro-enterprise.”
Applications for the fourth quarter 2010 Champion in Action in the healthy communities category are due Friday, July 16th at 5 p.m. and the winner will be announced in October 2010. Applications can be obtained online at www.citizensbank.com/community.
Prior Rhode Island Champions in Action to date include: Bayside Family Healthcare in North Kingstown, the House of Hope in Warwick, The Providence Black Repertory Company in Providence, the Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation in Woonsocket, McAuley House in Providence, TechACCESS in Warwick, Sojourner House in Providence, Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation in Pawtucket, Rhode Island Free Clinic in Providence, The Genesis Center in Providence, the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, New Urban Arts in Providence, West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation in Providence, Tides Family Services located throughout the state, Community MusicWorks in Providence, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Newport, Welcome House of South County in South Kingstown’s Peace Dale neighborhood, Franklin Court Independent Living in Bristol, RiverzEdge Arts Project in Woonsocket, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council in Providence, The Institute for the Study and Practice for Nonviolence in Providence, Church Community Housing Corporation in Newport, Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island in Providence, Youth in Action in Providence, Molar Express in Cranston, Everett Dance Theatre in Providence, Olneyville Housing Corporation in Providence, the ASPIRE Program at the RI Foster Parents Association in East Providence, the Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center in Warwick, Amos House in Providence and Connecting for Children and Families in Woonsocket.
For more information about the Citizens Bank / NBC 10 Champions in Action program, visit www.citizensbank.com/community or www.turnto10.com. To learn more about how to contribute through donations or volunteerism to Southside Community Land Trust call 401-273-9419.
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 82 branches and 150 ATMs in Rhode Island.
RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $144 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. 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). CFG’s Web site is citizensbank.com.
About NBC 10
WJAR-TV/DT is the most watched television station in the Providence-New Bedford television market and NBC 10 News is southern New England’s leading news station. WJAR was first launched as a radio station in 1922 and then became the market’s first television station in 1949. WJAR-TV/DT is owned by Media General, Inc.
About Media General
Media General is a multimedia company operating leading newspapers, television stations and online enterprises primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company’s publishing assets include three metropolitan newspapers, The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal, 22 daily community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, and more than 150 weekly newspapers and other publications. The company’s broadcasting assets currently include 30 network-affiliated television stations that reach more than 33 percent of the television households in the Southeast and more than 10 percent of those in the United States. The company’s interactive media assets include more than 75 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations. Media General also owns a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Company, a manufacturer of recycled newsprint.
