First Niagara Awards $150,000 to Seven Eastern New York Non-Profits Dedicated to Mentoring

Dec. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- ALBANY, N.Y.—First Niagara has announced the seven Eastern New York non-profit organizations selected to receive a total of $150,000 in grants as part of the bank’s sixth annual Mentoring Matters program. Mentoring Matters is First Niagara’s charitable giving program that provides critical financial and volunteer support for mentoring efforts conducted throughout the Northeast. The 2012 Eastern New York Mentoring Matters grant recipients are:

·      Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York, Inc.

·      Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

·      Northeast Parent & Child Society

·      Equinox, Inc.

·      Girls Incorporated of the Greater Capital Region

·      Capital District YMCA Black and Latino Achievers

·      WMHT-TV

As part of the announcement, students from Troy’s Lansingburgh High School traveled to First Niagara’s Regional Headquarters to kick off the bank’s “Day of Mentoring” celebration. At the market center, the students learned from First Niagara bankers about financial literacy, which includes budgeting, lending, and how they can all excel in the business world.

“Mentoring has a tremendous impact on the lives of young adults,” says Nina Tyzik, First Niagara’s market executive. “Studies clearly show that mentoring provides significant and tangible changes in students, including better grades, improved school attendance, better behavior, and evidence of a brighter future. Every child deserves to have a positive adult role model in his or her life.”

Over the past six years, First Niagara has provided more than $900,000 in financial support for mentoring programs in Eastern New York and close to $4 million for mentoring initiatives throughout its Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and New England footprint.

About First Niagara

First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank with approximately 430 branches, $36 billion in assets, $28 billion in deposits, and approximately 6,000 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.firstniagara.com.