NEWARK, N.J., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The slow economic
recovery has reinforced the importance for all families to live
within their means and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
(NYSE: PNC) and the PNC Foundation have responded with a
$12 million initiative focused on
preschoolers, their parents, caregivers and teachers for an early
start to smart money management.
The investment in financial education was introduced today in
Newark where representatives of
PNC announced $7 million in education
materials and a public awareness campaign along with a $5 million grant pool. The first recipients of
grants from the pool are the Newark Public Library and Montclair State University. Other grant
partners will be announced in September in communities throughout
PNC's 15-state region and the District of
Columbia. Sesame Workshop, through a continuing
partnership with PNC, has created a bilingual multimedia outreach
initiative, which establishes the foundation for the program
instruction to children between the ages of 3 to 5.
"By expanding our efforts with Sesame, we can help young
children better understand that everything has value and show
parents how to turn everyday moments into financial learning
experiences for their kids," said James E.
Rohr, PNC's chairman and chief executive officer.
This initiative increases the reach of PNC Grow Up Great, a
10-year, $100 million program to
improve early childhood education. Since its 2004 launch, more than
1 million children have benefited from $30
million in grants to numerous non-profit organizations and
other PNC-funded programs. Current areas of focus include science,
math and the arts.
Resources for Families
Details of PNC's new financial education initiative include the
following from the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal
funding from the corporation:
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH KITS: Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit
educational organization behind Sesame Street™, created this
latest resource in a series of Grow Up Great multi-media
educational kits. Entitled For Me, for You, for Later: First
Steps to Spending, Sharing, and Saving, the English-Spanish
kits feature an original Sesame Street™ DVD with
Elmo, Cookie Monster and their friends. More than 1 million kits
will be produced. Each one includes a parent/caregiver guide and a
children's activity book that introduces concepts of spending,
sharing and saving. All bilingual materials will be available for
free at PNC Bank branches, pncgrowupgreat.com, and
sesamestreet.org/save. Additional materials are available online,
including an educator's guide and an interactive game featuring
Cookie Monster.
- GRANTS: The PNC Foundation has funded a $5 million grant pool for non-profits to
facilitate financial education instruction and acquire materials.
The grants announced today include: Newark Public Library -
$300,000 for its program that teaches
city children lessons in spending, saving and sharing and equips
parents to reinforce the lessons at home; Montclair State University - $260,000 for professional development of
preschool teachers across seven counties in Northern New Jersey.
- AWARENESS: PNC will conduct a public awareness campaign
throughout the spring and summer to highlight lessons and available
materials to improve financial education. It will utilize PNC Bank
branches, online parenting websites, newspapers and other media
outlets.
"A growing number of researchers and educators believe that
financial education should start early in life," said Gary E. Knell, president and chief executive
officer of Sesame Workshop. "For Me, for You, for Later will
highlight financial learning opportunities that occur during every
day routines and experiences for children and parents on the
go."
Other elements are supported separately by PNC Bank, the retail
banking division of PNC. These include:
- NEW ACCOUNT: A new children's savings account, available
this fall at PNC's 2,500 branches, will inform and entertain
through online and interactive functions that utilize Sesame
Street™ characters to reinforce money-wise lessons and leverage the
technology behind PNC's popular Virtual Wallet account.
- EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERS: PNC employees will volunteer to
help non-profits with the class instruction. The employees, who are
eligible for 40 hours a year of paid time off to volunteer, have
contributed a total of 176,000 hours of support to Grow Up
Great.
- COMMUNITY EDUCATION: PNC will link this instruction to
existing financial education programming, i.e., budgeting,
Homebuyers Club, through its community development banking division
and offer a community guide to aid organizations that host the
program.
An online media kit containing video highlights from the Sesame
Street activity kit as well as downloadable video and audio sound
bytes is available on PNC's website at
http://www.pnc.com/go/presskits.
About the Organizations
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that
revolutionized children's television programming with the landmark
Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame
Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other
acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The
Electric Company. Beyond television, the Workshop
produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of
issues including literacy, health and military deployment.
Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families
develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional
strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at
www.sesameworkshop.org.
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from
The PNC Financial Services Group, actively supports organizations
that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it
has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its
philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community
and economic development, which includes the arts and culture.
Through its signature cause, Grow Up Great, PNC has
created a 10-year, $100 million
initiative to enhance early childhood education and school
readiness.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (www.pnc.com) is one of
the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations
providing retail and business banking; residential mortgage
banking; specialized services for corporations and government
entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and
asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. Follow
@PNCNews on Twitter for breaking news and announcements from
PNC.
CONTACTS:
Joe Balaban
(412) 768-5095
(412) 445-4024 (cell)
joseph.balaban@pnc.com
Jason Beyersdorfer
(732) 220-3055
(609) 651-5617 (cell)
jason.b@pnc.com
SOURCE PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.