Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts named Champion in Action in Massachusetts

Citizens Bank and NECN provide $25,000 grant, PR and volunteer support

BOSTON       (October 20, 2008) - Citizens Bank and NECN today named Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts a Champion in Action^® in Massachusetts under the category of community arts. The nonprofit organization promotes Latino art to the community through music, dance, poetry, theater, painting and photography. As part of the award, the organization receives a $25,000 grant from the Citizens Bank Foundation and extensive media coverage from NECN.

“The Center for Latino Arts is a local treasure for fostering and preserving past and present Latino art and customs,” said Robert E. Smyth, President, Citizens Bank, Massachusetts. “We are honored to join NECN in applauding this organization for the work it is doing to enrich the lives of people from all cultures through art.”

Founded in1968 and located in Boston’s South End neighborhood, CLA is the largest Latino arts complex in New England and fosters contemporary and traditional Latino art through exhibits, classes and performances. It hosts the Festival Betances, the region’s oldest Latino cultural festival, and numerous arts events throughout the year, including the Café Teatro seasonal performance series and the Tito Puente Latin Music Series, an annual summer concert series.

CLA also offers the Cacique Youth Arts Initiative to hundreds of at-risk youth who learn about arts education, violence prevention and literary development. Through the program, participants develop self-confidence, leadership skills and conflict resolution skills, which they incorporate into their visual and performance artwork. The organization also teaches weekly salsa and merengue classes engaging newcomers and neighbors to the city through its collaboration with Havana Club Salsa.

"NECN is proud to partner with Citizens Bank to honor The Center for Latino Arts, a wonderful place that brings arts education, performances and exhibits to all of Boston's Latino and non-Latino residents,'' said NECN President and General Manager Charles J. Kravetz. "The center's dedication to serving and educating area youth about the Latino culture, plus violence prevention and literacy as well, is most impressive. Boston is a better place for this most vital organization.''

CLA is being recognized for:
• Offering affordable and often no-cost admission to performances and exhibits engaging people from all economic backgrounds in Latino arts.
• Hosting festivals and events for diverse ethnic groups where audience members explore and share their cultural experiences.
• Striving to create a broader Latino arts umbrella that connects to the entire regional arts community.
• Educating children ages 3 to 18 on different mediums of art, including painting, dance, theater and poetry.
• Providing artists with a variety of workspaces where they can create their artwork.

As a Champion in Action, CLA receives:
• A $25,000 contribution in unrestricted funds from the Citizens Bank Foundation.
• Media coverage from NECN, including public service announcements, news stories and segments on other NECN programs such as NewsNight and New England Business Day.
• Volunteer support from Citizens and NECN employees.
• 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 NECN Web sites.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as a Champion in Action by Citizens Bank and NECN,” said F. Javier Torres, Director of Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts. “The CLA is a catalyst for growth across varied communities: generational, cultural and class. Our arts programs help diverse communities discover similarities and find vitality and beauty in our differences.”

Since introducing the program in 2002, Citizens has awarded 25 Massachusetts organizations $625,000.

To learn more about CLA, please visit claboston.org.

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 258 branches and 597 ATMs in Massachusetts.

RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $161 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 13-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, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).   

About NECN

NECN is the largest 24-hour regional news network in the country, with 3.7 million subscribers in more than 1,050 cities and towns in all six New England states.  It is a partnership of Comcast and the Hearst Corporation. The station specializes in long-form journalism, producing documentaries and extensive local and national political coverage. For more information on NECN, go to www.necn.com.