Citizens Bank donates $100,000 to Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston as part of Mayor’s Food and Fuel Campaign

Funding will support shelters and emergency food programs

BOSTON       (November 10, 2008) - Citizens Bank and the Black Ministerial Alliance today announced a funding initiative to help Boston’s low-income residents cope with high food and heating costs this winter, an effort that supplements Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Food and Fuel Campaign. The food and fuel initiative is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Citizens Bank Foundation and will support shelters and emergency food programs that provide heating and food assistance to local residents in need.

Citizens Bank and the Black Ministerial Alliance are responding to Boston Mayor Menino’s appeal to the community to support the city’s Food and Fuel Campaign. Anticipating a difficult winter for many individuals and families in Boston, Mayor Menino recently announced the campaign to raise awareness and resources to assist community programs.

“People should not have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families this winter,” Mayor Menino said.  “We’re grateful to have the support of community partners like Citizens Bank and the Black Ministerial Alliance in our Food and Fuel Campaign. This funding will make a real difference in the lives of those most in need by helping to put food on tables and bring warmth to homes.”

“Citizens Bank is proud to support Mayor Menino’s Food and Fuel Campaign and work with our friends at the Black Ministerial Alliance to assist those in need during the cold winter months,” said Robert E. Smyth, President, Citizens Bank. “As a company committed to supporting the communities where its customers and colleagues live and work, we are pleased to offer assistance to those in need.”

With the $100,000 grant from Citizens, the BMA will administer grants ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 to faith based and community based organizations and homeless shelters in Boston.

BMA estimates that the $100,000 donation from the Citizens Bank Foundation will feed 3,000 people; assist approximately 50 individuals and families who are struggling to pay their heating bills; and provide much-needed assistance to Boston homeless shelters, which are also expected to struggle with high heating costs.

According to the Energy Information Administration, household heating expenses are expected to increase by 15 percent this winter compared to last year. The Greater Boston Food Bank recently reported a 90 percent increase in demand for services from food pantries and soup kitchens.

“For the past two years, Citizens and the BMA have worked together on programs that benefit the neighborhoods in the community. We are pleased to work with the bank and the city on this program that will help our neighbors who are struggling to put food on their table and heat their homes,” said Bishop Gideon A. Thompson, BMA Board President and Founder and Senior Pastor of the Jubilee Christian Church. “We applaud Mayor Menino for his call to action on this issue and Citizens for providing the financial resources to address the food and fuel crisis that is affecting so many individuals and families in need.”

The donation also will support Mayor Menino’s Community Dinner program, a component of his Food and Fuel Campaign. Several dinners will be held during the winter months at local churches, giving residents an opportunity to meet their neighbors, enjoy a free meal and learn about additional food and fuel assistance programs. In addition, guests will receive a free bag of groceries to help supplement their basic food budget.

Joining Smyth and Mayor Menino at today’s announcement, held at the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, were a number of community leaders, including Rev. David Wright, Executive Director, BMA, Bishop Gideon A. Thompson, BMA Board President and Founder and Senior Pastor of Jubilee Christian Church and Rev. Herman Hamilton, President, Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church. Also in attendance were Ellen Parker, Executive Director, Project Bread and Catherine D’Amato, President and CEO, Greater Boston Food Bank.

About the Citizens Bank Foundation

Citizens Bank Foundation is a charitable contributions vehicle of Citizens Bank. The foundation’s support is focused on housing, community development and basic human needs.

About BMA

The Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, established in the early 1960s, is an alliance of over 80 faith-based and community-based organizations with a 40-year history of serving the Black community in Boston. The BMA’s mission is to provide spiritual nurture for clergy, and advocacy and program services for the larger Black community. As part of its mission, the BMA demonstrates its ability to create positive change in the Boston area.