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Citizens Financial Group celebrates five-year anniversary of Champions in Action program
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (November 6, 2007) - Citizens Financial Group today announced it will celebrate the five-year anniversary of its Champions in Action® program at a special ceremony on November 7, 2007. Since launching the initiative in 2002, Citizens and its partners have recognized more than 100 nonprofit organizations as “Champions” and rewarded them with financial assistance and other support for the work these organizations do in communities.
Larry Fish, chairman of RBS America and Citizens Financial Group, will host the event, which will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. He will be joined by the nonprofit “Champions” from throughout New England, Citizens colleagues and media partners including WJAR-10. Ron Shapiro, educator, author and civic leader, will serve as the guest speaker.
“It’s our anniversary, but it’s our community that gets the gifts. The organizations we have selected as Champions during the last five years make the communities we serve better places to live, work and raise families,” said Fish. “Citizens is proud to celebrate the anniversary of this program with our Champions partners and to once again honor these nonprofits for the contributions they make to our community.”
Citizens’ Champions in Action program leverages the resources and expertise of Citizens, as well as the bank’s relationships with its customers, vendors and community partners, to support small non-profits. Since launching the program, Citizens has invested nearly $3 million in 118 organizations throughout its footprint, including $525,000 in 21 organizations in Rhode Island.
Through Champions in Action, Citizens adopts a new nonprofit every quarter and, in addition to awarding them $25,000 from the Citizens Charitable Foundation, provides technical expertise such as Web site development, writing copy for brochures and other skills available within its employee ranks and throughout its network. Citizens media partners showcase these organizations in professional public service announcements that raise awareness of the work they do in the community to attract additional support.
“In order to provide news content that our community truly cares about, we have to understand and be part of the fabric of the communities we cover,” said Lisa Churchville, President and General Manager of NBC 10. “The Champions in Action program enables us to connect with the community in a very important way. By honoring ‘Champions’ for the contributions they make to our community, we are raising awareness of these organizations so they can garner additional support, help more people and have a greater impact on our community.”
By supporting nonprofits with resources in addition to financial support, the Champions in Action program has greatly helped small organizations in Rhode Island in untraditional, but profound ways.
• The House of Hope in Warwick saw a 30% increase in food donations, a 10% increase in those seeking shelter, and a marked increase in the donation of warm clothing, blankets and furniture.
• New Urban Arts Center of Providence saw subscribers to their electronic newsletter increase by 26%, website hits increase by 300% and visitors to the organization increase by 20%.
• Norman Bird Sanctuary of Newport saw new visitors increase by 10%.
“Champions in Action demonstrates the transformational power of collaboration and how committing resources beyond financial assistance can create transformational change,” said Fish.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $159 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,600 branches, more than 3,300 ATMs and more than 24,500 employees. Its 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).
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