News Releases

CINCINNATI, OH, Dec. 8, 2011 – The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and United Way Success By 6® have been awarded a $200,000 grant from The PNC Foundation to teach area children lessons in spending, sharing and saving and equip parents to reinforce the lessons at home. PNC provided the funding in support of Grow Up Great, its bilingual program in early childhood education.

The announcement also commemorated the opening of the new PNC Student Bank at Rockdale Academy. PNC’s Student Bank program provides elementary school students with an understanding of the value of saving, how compound interest works and the basics of personal finance delivered through a fun, first-hand experience in operating a retail bank, including role-playing opportunities as a bank teller.

The grant from The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), will allow the Cincinnati Library and Success By 6 to develop a series of Preschool Storytimes that engage children and their parents and caregivers in financial theme-based activities. The Storytimes will be conducted at 47 locations in three public library systems with 3,000 preschoolers participating. The program will include 29 quarterly evening financial education workshops for families facilitated by PNC employee volunteers reaching 290 parents and caregivers.

“The Library is committed to providing relevant, high-quality programs and services to meet needs in the community,” said Kim Fender, executive director, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. “This grant will enable the Library to expand its kindergarten readiness programs that prepare children to succeed in school and life.”

The instruction will be based on the lessons included in “For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing and SavingTM,” a multi-media bilingual financial education activity kit created by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame StreetTM, for PNC. The library also will distribute the “For You, For Me, For Later” financial education kits to parents and families.

According to Stephanie Byrd, executive director of Success By 6®, “This Grow Up Great programming is another way to help children increase their understanding of concepts that are important for kindergarten. The emphasis on early quantitative skills, combined with reading books, will give children more familiarity with words, numbers and interacting with others, invaluable experiences as young children make the transition to school.”

PNC recently announced the extension of Grow Up Great by $250 million over 10 years to strengthen existing programs in math, science and the arts and reach more children, families and teachers. Considered one of the most comprehensive corporate school readiness programs of its kind, it has earned national recognition for programming through $40 million in grants to numerous non-profit organizations and other PNC funded initiatives.

In Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, PNC has already provided $1.5 million in grants over the past eight years to organizations including the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Museum Center, Xavier University, United Way, Cincinnati Nature Center and Learning Through Art. Programming is helping prepare area preschoolers to succeed in school by incorporating learning activities designed to engage their minds and bodies.

“PNC recognizes the critical role that access to high quality early childhood education plays in the lives of area children, their families and ultimately, our economy,” said Kay Geiger, PNC Bank regional president for Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, speaking on behalf of The PNC Foundation. “Through PNC Grow Up Great, we are contributing to the future of this region and helping to close learning readiness gaps faced by many children as they enter kindergarten.”

In addition to providing the free “For Me, for You, for Later” instructional kits at both PNC and library branches, PNC has launched separate online financial education instruction as part of “S Is for Savings,” a new children’s savings account that informs and entertains. Its interactive functions utilize Sesame Street characters to reinforce a basic understanding of spending, saving and sharing and leverage the lessons of the bilingual multimedia kits.

To learn more about the PNC Grow Up Great initiative, go to www.pncgrowupgreat.com.

For a schedule of PNC Grow Up Great Preschool Storytimes, go to www.cincinnatilibrary.org/programs/<http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/programs/.

Success By 6® is a kindergarten readiness initiative of United Way of Greater Cincinnati that collaborates with local agencies, programs and parents to ensure that, by age 6, all children will be prepared to succeed in school. It works to improve the early childhood system throughout the region through advocacy, capacity building and measuring results.

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), 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. PNC has extended its signature cause, PNC Grow Up Great, by $250 million over 10 years to enhance early childhood education and school readiness.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

PNC
Terri Wilson
(502) 581-4073
terri.wilson@pnc.com

Cincinnati Library
Amy Banister
(513) 369-3157
amy.banister@cincinnatilibrary.org

Success By Six
Stephanie Byrd
(513) 762-7144
stephanie.Byrd@uwgc.org