Providence, RI (January 19, 2005) - Citizens Bank and NBC 10 today honored the 2004 Citizens Bank and NBC 10 Community Champions. This year's "champions" were: TechACCESS of Rhode Island in Warwick; Sojourner House in Providence; Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation; and Rhode Island Free Clinic in Providence.
"Citizens Bank is proud to call each of these four agencies Champion," said Joseph J. MarcAurele, President and CEO of Citizens Bank. "This program was designed to provide an added lift to agencies doing great work who aren't as well known. From helping individuals with special needs, supporting survivors of domestic violence, building affordable homes and providing free healthcare, each of these four agencies is truly an unsung hero in their respective fields."
Each quarter, a non-profit organization in Rhode Island that addresses a designated social concern is named a Citizens Bank / NBC 10 Community Champion. Citizens Bank and NBC 10 provide the organization with a contribution of $25,000 in unrestricted funds from the Citizens Bank Foundation, media coverage from NBC 10 including public service announcements and television profiles, employee volunteers from Citizens Bank and NBC 10, public relations and promotional support, including advertising in Citizens Bank branches and on Citizens Bank ATMs along with online promotions at citizensbank.com and turnto10.com.
"NBC 10 salutes and congratulates the four Community Champions for their support and dedication to the community they serve," said Lisa Churchville, President and General Manager of NBC 10. "We are delighted and pleased to work with Citizens Bank on this very important and successful community outreach program."
TechACCESS was named Community Champion in the first quarter of 2004 in the "Special Needs" category for their work with people of all ages who have varying types of disabilities through assistive technology allowing visually impaired people to see written materials in "super sized" fonts. TechACCESS also gives non-speaking individuals the ability to communicate through typing and speech output devices.
Through Community Champions, TechACCESS was able to utilize Citizens Bank and NBC 10 volunteers to repaint their facility, develop a database, and expand their fundraising efforts through the first annual "Sail into Summer" event. The exposure on NBC 10 and in promotional materials displayed at Citizens Bank branches enabled TechACCESS to reach a wider audience and provide information and tools to hundreds more individuals and families living with disabilities.
"Being a Community Champion was an incredible experience," said Judi Hammerlind Carlson, Executive Director of TechACCESS. "The volunteers that stepped forwarded and stayed with us combined with the publicity we received is something we just couldn't get on our own."
Sojourner House, a Community Champion in the "Violence Prevention" category, was selected for their work to empower victims of domestic violence and for programs they've developed to support survivors. Sojourner House is the first domestic violence agency in Rhode Island to provide bilingual, bicultural services through its Latina Advocacy Program to empower Latina women and girls. With the $25,000 in unrestricted funds, Sojourner House was able to continue funding their elder abuse program that faced funding cuts. Sojourner House saw a 17% increase in the number of people served during their three months as Champion.
"It was a real pleasure to be named Community Champion," said Betty Bailey, Executive Director of Sojourner House. "The quality of support through volunteers, community and the media was enormous and yielded us dozens of new clients."
The third Community Champion of 2004 was the Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation (PCDC). PCDC is a nonprofit housing development corporation that has produced approximately 100 units of affordable housing in the past decade. PCDC used the $25,000 in unrestricted funds to fund a housing outreach position at their agency.
"If it wasn't for the grant we wouldn't have been able to continue some of our outreach efforts in the community," said Nancy Whit, Executive Director of the Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation. "But the money wasn't the most important benefit of the program. The volunteer support they provided to us was tremendous, and the brochures provided by Citizens Bank and NBC 10 helped to raise awareness about our program."
The final recipient in 2004 was the Rhode Island Free Clinic, a Community Champion in the "Community Healthcare" category. They were selected for being the only clinic in the state dedicated exclusively to providing uninsured individuals with totally free primary healthcare in a community-based setting. Since opening in 1999, Rhode Island Free Clinic has provided more than 6,000 patients with services.
"My expectations of what being a Community Champion might be and how it played out were very different," said Lisa Smolski, Executive Director of the RI Free Clinic. "The money quickly became secondary. But it was the visibility that the program provided that was far more beneficial."
Rhode Island Community Champions to date are: Bayside Family Healthcare in North Kingstown; the House of Hope in Warwick; The Providence Black Repertory Company in Providence; the Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation; McAuley House in Providence; TechACCESS in Warwick; Sojourner House in Providence; Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation; and Rhode Island Free Clinic in Providence.
Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, with $11.2 billion in assets, offers a complete range of banking services and has the largest branch banking network in Rhode Island with 78 branches and 145 ATMs. Citizens' history in Rhode Island dates to 1828. It has more than 4,900 employees. Citizens Bank of Rhode Island is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $131 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,550 offices, approximately 2,700 ATMs and approximately 24,000 employees in 13 states. It operates in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Citizens is the 12th largest commercial banking company in the United States in asset size and ninth when ranked by deposits. Citizens is owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc.
NBC 10 is the Emmy-award winning, leading television station in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. It is one of 14 owned-and-operated stations of the National Broadcasting Company Universal (NBC Universal) in key markets across the United States, including New York (WNBC-TV), Los Angeles (KNBC), Chicago (WMAQ), Philadelphia (WCAU), San Francisco (KNTV), San Diego (KNSD), Dallas (KXAS), Birmingham (WVTM), Providence (WJAR), Hartford (WVIT), Columbus (WCMH), Raleigh (WNCN), Miami (WTVJ), and Washington, DC (WRC). Together, these stations cover approximately 30 percent of the nation's viewing households, and annually generate more than $1 billion in revenue from advertising sales. In addition, NBC Universal owns and operates 15 Telemundo stations in top Hispanic language markets, as well as the number one ranked station in Puerto Rico. For further information, log onto www.turnto10.com.