MANNA named Champion in Action in Philadelphia for its work in community health care

Organization receives $25,000 grant and other benefits

PHILADELPHIA       (October 23, 2008) - Four of the region’s foremost corporate organizations announced today that MANNA is the latest nonprofit to be named a Champion in Action^®. MANNA received the recognition for its effective work in delivering medically appropriate meals each day to people with life-threatening illnesses. As a Champion in Action, MANNA will receive a $25,000 grant, media coverage, and extensive promotional and volunteer support over the next three months.

Champions in Action is an innovative program that provides various forms of support for small nonprofit organizations in recognition of their contributions to communities throughout the five-county Philadelphia area. Since its inception in 2003, 19 Champions have been selected including today’s announcement.

“Citizens Bank is pleased to join NBC 10, Greater Philadelphia Cares, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News and Philly.com in naming MANNA as our new Champion in Action,” said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, Citizens Bank President and CEO for Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “Since its modest beginnings in 1990, MANNA has grown into an effective and highly respected agency that nourishes both the bodies and souls of thousands of individuals and families throughout greater Philadelphia living with life-threatening illnesses. MANNA’s work and its expanding mission are a testament to how a handful of concerned individuals are able to have a huge impact on our community.”

“NBC 10 is proud to be a partner with the Champions in Action program,” said Dennis Bianchi, President and General Manager of NBC 10. “Strong partnerships and programs such as this allow us to demonstrate our community commitment, and give us the chance to thank local nonprofits, such as MANNA, that do so much good work in communities across our region. MANNA chefs and volunteers work together to prepare, package and deliver almost 2,700 medically approved meals each day to people at acute nutritional risk who are living with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other serious health challenges.”

“Using a small professional staff and 1,000 dedicated volunteers, MANNA prepares and delivers more than 72,000 nutritious and freshly prepared meals each month, all completely free to the client,” said Carol Dooling, Director of Communications and Partnerships at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com. “This effective outreach is supplemented by client reassessment to ensure a full level of nutritional support so that clients are making the most efficient and effective use of MANNA’s resources.”

“Volunteer support is essential to an organization such as MANNA,” said Renee Archawski, Executive Director of Greater Philadelphia Cares. “We are delighted to pledge our support to help MANNA continue to expand its mission, especially at this time of the year when MANNA needs more volunteers to help during the busy holiday season.”

MANNA’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Keaveney and his staff learned that the nonprofit was selected as a Champion in Action during a surprise segment of the 10! Show on NBC 10. As a Champion in Action, MANNA will receive: 

• A $25,000 contribution in unrestricted funds from the Citizens Bank Foundation.
• Media coverage from NBC 10, including public service announcements and profiles.
• Advertising space in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and on Philly.com to promote both the program and the organization.
• Volunteer support from Citizens Bank, NBC 10 and Greater Philadelphia Cares.
• Extensive public relations support.
• Promotional support, highlighting the Champion in Action in all Citizens Bank branches.
• Exposure on the Web sites of Citizens Bank, NBC 10 and Philly.com.
• Consulting and implementation services, provided by Greater Philadelphia Cares, to leverage volunteer support that enhances impact.

Four new Champions in Action will be selected and announced throughout 2009. The topics and deadlines are as follow:

1st Quarter – Youth Programming, deadline closed
2nd Quarter – Housing, January 23, 2009
3rd Quarter – Financial Literacy, April 24, 2009
4th Quarter – Community Arts, July 17, 2009
 
About Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania

Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania is a state-chartered bank with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It has approximately 400 branches and more than 660 ATMs throughout Pennsylvania. It also operates 13 retail branches and 26 ATMs in southern New Jersey and a commercial loan office in Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $161 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I.

Citizens Financial Group, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,600 branches, 3,300 ATMs and 24,500 employees. 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 the10 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 NBC 10

NBC 10, one of 10 Owned & Operated NBC television stations, is located in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. Millions of viewers throughout Greater Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, South Jersey and Delaware tune into NBC 10 everyday for the most up-to-date news, weather, sports, consumer, health and traffic reports. NBC 10’s 5 p.m. news ─ “All That & More” ─ is the only fully interactive news program in the region. Viewers also tune in daily to watch “The 10! Show,” an upbeat, one-hour lifestyle and entertainment show featuring local, national and internationally known celebrities. The program airs Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Recognized as the No. 1 Web site (www.nbc10.com ) in the top 50 markets, NBC10.com received the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award.

About Philadelphia Media Holdings

Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC, is the leading media company in the Philadelphia region. Privately held and locally owned, PMH is the owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, philly.com, related online products and several community newspapers. With almost one million people reading The Inquirer each day, and 1.6 million on Sundays, The Inquirer is the region’s most-read daily newspaper. Together with the Daily News, the No. 1 tab newspaper in the region, which reaches 500,000 readers each week, and philly.com, the No. 1 Web site in the region, Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC, reaches almost 2 million people each day.

About Greater Philadelphia Cares

An award-winning non-profit, Greater Philadelphia Cares is committed to empowering individuals to realize their ability to contribute to the community in meaningful ways. By providing a variety of flexible, tangible volunteer opportunities, Greater Philadelphia Cares is continuously enhancing the ability for volunteers to serve the community.

About MANNA

Founded in 1990, MANNA offers home-delivered, medically appropriate meals to help boost the body’s ability to fight serious illnesses, provides education and counseling to help clients make intelligent nutrition choices, and offers compassionate human contact that links consumers in need with caring community volunteers from all walks of life. Together, these services help people with a life-threatening illness maintain their independence and live longer, healthier lives. MANNA’s Web site is mannapa.org.