Citizens Bank announced recently that it will be sponsoring a Financial Literacy component for TeamFAME, the youth enrichment program at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Launched in September 2018, TeamFAME is the Newport, RI chapter of National Junior Tennis & Learning, a network of more than 300 organizations nationwide that utilize tennis as a vehicle for growth in areas including character education, academic enrichment, and health and wellness.
As part of the new partnership, Citizens will be offering a Financial Literacy program to the TeamFAME students. Citizens colleagues will teach the program, which will focus on areas such as budgeting, savings, and borrowing, to provide the TeamFAME students and their families with an informed foundation to develop healthy, responsible financial habits. The program kicked off in late April, during National Financial Literacy Month, and will take place during several sessions in the school-year and be incorporated into weekly summer sessions.
“Citizens Bank is excited to support TeamFAME as they work to educate, motivate, and empower young people in a variety of core life skills, which now include financial literacy,” said Barbara Cottam, executive vice president and head of corporate affairs at Citizens Bank. “Our partnership will teach our youth the vital skills to save and budget, and give them confidence in their ability to make good financial decisions.”
In its first year, TeamFAME enrolled 32 fifth grade students from Thompson Middle School in Newport, who come to the International Tennis Hall of Fame three times per week for a total of 10 hours of weekly programming.
During each session, the students take part in structured programming that includes tennis instruction; academic assistance; character development programs in goal-setting, honesty, and sportsmanship, among other areas; healthy meals and nutrition education; and additional important life skills programming. Citizens’ sponsorship will add a Financial Literacy component to this programming.
“While we utilize tennis as teaching tool, the intention behind TeamFAME is not merely to develop tennis players, but to inspire and mentor community leaders and goal-oriented students. Our mission is to make a significant positive impact on the youth in the Newport community and to build community through tennis. This aligns well with the community based work that Citizens does, and we are excited and grateful to collaborate with Citizens Bank to grow TeamFAME,” said Todd Martin, International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO.
As a new major corporate partner, Citizens’ support will enable TeamFAME to serve even more of the local community, for years to come. TeamFAME wraps up its first year at the end of the current school year in June. Plans are in place for a summer program, and to bring back this year’s fifth graders for a sixth grade program next year, while also adding another class of fifth graders.
Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions. The bank recently announced the launch of its multi-faceted financial education program, Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money. The program will reach 338,000 people through local partnerships to deliver home buyer’s assistance training, financial empowerment, earned income tax credit programs and small business development.
For additional information, please visit www.tennisfame.com/teamFAME