Citizens Bank Collecting School Supplies for Local Children

Citizens Bank this week began collecting new school supplies during its Gear for Grades initiative, an effort to help local children go back to school with the gear they need to learn. New pencils, folders, glue, notebooks and other supplies can be donated at any Citizens Bank branch in New Hampshire through August 10. This year’s Gear for Grades program is supported by Child and Family Services of NH, 95.7 WZID, and the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Citizens Bank Foundation is donating 3,000 backpacks to the program. The backpacks will be filled with the donated school supplies and distributed to youth programs throughout the state beginning August 20.

“Gear for Grades ensures that local children have a new backpack filled with notebooks, pencils, and other supplies so they are ready for a successful and productive year of learning,” said Joe Carelli, President, Citizens Bank New Hampshire. “Every child deserves the excitement of returning to school with new supplies and knowing that people care about their future.  We thank our customers and the public in advance for supporting the Gear for Grades program.”

Child and Family Services will distribute backpacks to children they serve and has identified additional youth programs across the state that will receive the filled backpacks and distribute them to children who need these supplies the most. 95.7 WZID and the New Hampshire Union Leader are promoting Gear for Grades and encouraging listeners and readers to donate supplies.

“We’ve been proud to be connected with Gear for Grades over the years, and once again look forward to this year’s drive. As a family friendly radio station, the importance of a good education for all of New Hampshire’s students is also important to us and we’re glad to help out in any way we can,” said WZID President and General Manager Ray Garon.

According to Joe McQuaid, Publisher of the Union Leader, this is an excellent way to help New Hampshire school children prepare for a successful school year.

“The New Hampshire Union Leader is pleased to partner with Citizens Bank on Gear for Grades,” said McQuaid. “This program is a great fit for us and our support of education, and we encourage all Granite Staters to participate by donating new school supplies at a local Citizens Bank branch. It will go a long way to helping New Hampshire children and families in need.”

According to a National Retail Federation survey, the average American family spent $603 in 2011 on back-to-school expenses. For low-income, at-risk or homeless families, the cost of even basic school supplies can be a burden. The supplies most in need include child-safe scissors, pencils, pens, erasers, pocket folders, spiral notebooks, crayons, washable markers, rulers, glue sticks, colored pencils, pencil boxes and index cards.

 “This campaign will go a long way toward getting the school year off to a great start,” said Michael Ostrowski, President and CEO of Child and Family Services. “Citizens Bank is fulfilling a need that most people take for granted. The new backpacks and school supplies will surely make the return to the classroom a more exciting time for many children this year and a less stressful one for families in need.”

WZID will support Gear for Grades with public services announcements to encourage listeners to donate supplies. It will also host a live broadcast on August 2 outside the Citizens Bank branch at Walmart in Amherst, where the public can drop off school supplies from 4 pm to 6 pm.

This year, more than 37,000 backpacks will be distributed to children across RBS Citizens Financial Group’s footprint where it operates as Citizens Bank in the Mid-Atlantic and New England and Charter One in the Midwest. Since 2003, Gear for Grades has provided more than 200,000 children with new backpacks and school supplies.