Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey (BGCNJ) recently announced a $20,000 grant from Citizens and a new partnership designed to bring practical financial empowerment resources directly to Club families across the state. Through this initiative, Citizens colleagues will lead a series of informal, conversation-based financial workshops at Clubhouses in Newark, Garfield, Monmouth County, and Union County.

The effort is designed to help families make informed financial decisions—an essential building block for young people’s long-term success. “When we strengthen the financial well-being of our families, we strengthen the foundation that supports every Club member,” said Susan Haspel, State Director, Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey. “We are grateful to Citizens for investing in our communities and helping equip families with the tools they need to thrive.”

Unlike traditional classroom-style workshops, these workshops will be warm, welcoming, and highly interactive. During upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday family dinners at Clubs - Citizens colleagues will: Share financial tips and myth-busters; Engage in one-on-one conversations with families at their tables to identify their individual needs; and Answer questions about homeownership, savings, banking basics, and preparing for college.

“At Citizens, we believe financial empowerment is essential for long-term success,” said Yajaira Hafley, Tri-State Metro Retail Market Executive at Citizens. “Our colleagues will be visiting local Boys & Girls Clubs to work with families on building the confidence and skills they need to make informed financial decisions.”

The shared goal of the partnership is simple: build relationships, empower families with accessible financial knowledge, and spark ongoing conversations about financial security that continue well beyond the event.

Citizens will also host an information table featuring giveaways, kid-friendly activities, and helpful materials on:

* College Bound Citizens and College Raptor resources

* HELOC and first-time homebuyer programs

* Additional banking products, services, and financial literacy tools

Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey is a statewide network of 21 local Club organizations serving over 60,000 youth and their families annually. Clubs provide a safe place, caring mentors, and life-changing programs that help young people reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2025. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,100 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities.