CLEVELAND (November 1, 2005) - With skyrocketing heating bills expected again this winter, Charter One Bank has pledged $75,000 to the “Shelter Heating Assistance Campaign,” a fuel assistance initiative to help defray this season's heating costs for 19 homeless and emergency shelters in Ohio. Heating costs are expected to increase by at least one-third this year following recent hurricanes' impact on U.S. energy production.
Charter One's parent company, Citizens Financial Group, launched the initiative throughout New England last year and has expanded this year's campaign to help Midwest shelters. Together, Citizens Bank and the Charter One Foundation will provide $625,000 to the campaign to assist 345 shelters in paying their winter heating bills. In addition, Citizens and Charter One Bank branches throughout New England and the Midwest will accept additional contributions from customers and the general public. Donations will be accepted at all 177 Charter One Bank branches throughout Ohio between now and January 31, 2006.
The shelters that will benefit from the donations are: Alliance for Children and Families, Battered Women's Shelter at the YWCA of Greater Toledo, The Battered Women's Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties, Domestic Violence Center of Cleveland, Domestic Violence Project Inc. of Canton and Massillon, Family House, Friends of the Homeless, Inc., Greater Youngstown Point, Haven Center of Neighborhood House Association, Homeless Families Foundation, Lorain County Safe Harbor/Genesis House, Community Women's Shelter & Emergency Shelter for Disabled Men, Operation Safety Net/The Scioto County Homeless Shelter, Project Hope for the Homeless, Providence House, The Salvation Army Zelma George Shelter, The Salvation Army Booth Manor, Westhaven Youth Shelter and YWCA of Canton.
"Charter One is pleased to partner with these 19 shelters throughout Ohio on this important community initiative. The “Shelter Heating Assistance Campaign” will provide these shelters with the necessary funds to provide a warm environment for approximately 1,000 people each night," said Ned Handy, president and CEO of Charter One Bank, Ohio. "We encourage all those who wish to contribute to stop by any Charter One branch to show their support. Together, we can help ensure our shelters are able to continue providing their services to those who need them most."
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, households are expected to spend 48 percent more this winter on fuel if they heat primarily with natural gas, 32 percent more if they primarily heat with heating oil, 30 percent more if they heat primarily with propane and 5 percent more if they heat primarily with electricity. For shelters, rising heating costs pose budget strains on critical programs and services offered to the homeless.
“It is always a challenge for shelter providers to maintain services with increased expenses. The media warns that the recent natural disasters will increase heating costs, causing us great concern,” said Beau Hill, Director of Business Operations for The Salvation Army Harbor Light Complex. “While we need to be conservative in our use of energy, we cannot lower temperatures too much because of comfort to our residents, especially the young & newborn residents. The Salvation Army is most grateful for Charter One's Heating Initiative, assisting us with increased heating costs this winter.”
About Charter One Bank, N.A.
Charter One Bank, N.A., is a $41 billion bank operating in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. It has more than 490 branches and 812 ATMs. It has 177 branches and 186 ATMs in Ohio. Charter One is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $148 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,600 branches, approximately 3,100 ATMs and more than 27,000 employees in a 13-state retail branch network and non-branch offices in more than 30 states. Citizens is the eighth-largest commercial banking company in the United States ranked by deposits. Citizens is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).