Citizens Bank Teams with LISC Across Workforce Development Initiatives
More than $500,000 in Citizens Charitable Foundation grants are fueling education and training in Boston,
Philadelphia, Providence while expanding pilot program for career development
Citizens Bank today announced an expanded national partnership between national nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Coalition
(LISC) and the Citizens Charitable Foundation. This partnership will fund a range of employment services designed to help people to
find work, move up from minimum wage jobs and stabilize their family’s financial outlook.
Fueled by a Citizens Charitable Foundation investment of more than $500,000, these programs will help connect unemployed and
underemployed workers in Boston, Philadelphia, and Providence to the education, training and career coaching they need to compete
for jobs in fast-growing fields such as health care.
”It is vital that we work together to ensure that people have the skills necessary to reach their potential in the economy of
tomorrow,” said Bruce Van Saun, CEO and Chairman of Citizens Financial Group. “This new national partnership with LISC allows us to
fund initiatives that will drive economic opportunity and career development in Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia.”
The programs take a three-pronged approach that includes: education for workers who need to build their basic math and reading
skills; placement in technical training programs and jobs; and post-employment coaching to help people move beyond entry-level
positions and create long-term career paths with the opportunity for income growth.
The services are offered through community-based Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) sponsored by LISC in these three cities.
FOCs integrate employment services with a range of financial coaching to address individual challenges—a bundled approach that has
proven to help people grow their incomes and improve their credit. For example, the pre-employment component, Bridges to
Career Opportunities, works with clients who, on average, test at the 6th-8th grade educational level—too
low to gain entry to coveted technical training needed to move into good jobs. The Bridges program offers basic education to
help people reach the levels of reading, math, and English language proficiency required to enter technical skills training
programs. This education is contextualized for specific industries—like building a vocabulary around healthcare—in order to prepare
people for new opportunities.
To address post-employment needs, funding from the Citizens Charitable Foundation is also helping expand a pilot career
development and wage advancement effort. It offers support for ongoing skills development along with financial and employment
planning—helping them improve job tenure, increase occupational skill, and understand the path for wage progression. It also helps
participants balance the demands of work and home life and to successfully overcome obstacles before they lead to career
setbacks.
“Our communities are rich in human capital, ready to work hard and succeed,” said Maurice Jones, CEO of LISC. “The key is
opening doors to good jobs that offer a strong financial future. By supporting these programs through the Citizens Charitable
Foundation, Citizens is helping us create opportunities for more people to raise their standards of living—and, in the process,
contribute to economic growth in their communities.”
The three sites in Boston, Philadelphia and Providence are part of a national network of more than 80 FOCs around the
country—all tailoring their services to help people grow their incomes, improve their credit, and save for the future. The
employment and financial services they provide are a fundamental part of LISC’s broader work to create economic opportunity and
revitalize communities through investments in good housing, businesses, health, safety, education and jobs.
The funding of these programs by the Citizens Charitable Foundation represents a long term commitment the Citizens Bank has made
to give back to the communities it serves through the Citizens Charitable Foundation’s Citizens Helping Citizens initiative.
Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthening Communities is one component of this program which is focused on giving back by investing
in resources that create solutions to the toughest challenges in our neighborhoods: economic development, job training, small
business development, affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization.
About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to
live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $18.6 billion to build or rehab 376,000 affordable
homes and apartments and develop 63 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more, visit
www.lisc.org.
About Citizens Charitable Foundation
The Citizens Charitable Foundation is a philanthropic organization funded by Citizens Financial Group, Inc. The Foundation’s
mission is centered in the belief that citizenship is at the heart of Citizens’ identity, and when people and communities reach
their potential, we all thrive. The Citizens Charitable Foundation currently focuses its giving in three key areas: helping people
to manage their money, engaging with partners in the fight against hunger, and strengthening our communities. By investing in these
important issues, the Citizens Charitable Foundation strives to improve the lives of our fellow citizens through building
partnerships with public, private, and community interests to develop neighborhoods, transform lives, and stimulate economic
renewal.
Rory Sheehan
781-655-3931
Rory.p.sheehan@citizensbank.com
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