Health & Fitness
First Niagara Employees Work with Habitat for Humanity to Re-Build Home in Putnam County
Peekskill, NY (July 2013) – A team of First Niagara employees put their carpentry skills to the test as they spent a day with the Habitat for Humanity of Putnam County, NY rebuilding a home for a local family. In addition, First Niagara Foundation provided a $2,000 grant to help support the project.
“First Niagara feels honored to have had the opportunity to lend a hand to Habitat for Humanity, a great cause in our community,” said First Niagara Brewster Branch Manager, Catherine Seale. “ Helping people achieve the goal of homeownership is something we’re very good at – although it usually involves mortgages and not hammers!”
The First Niagara team, comprised of employees from the Brewster, Jefferson Valley and Baldwin Place branches performed a variety of tasks including installing insulation, housewrap, a rainscreen, trim and siding, and some minor framing work.
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“We are thrilled to begin what we hope will be a long and productive partnership with First Niagara,” said Lisa Denig, Board Member. “We have found that our corporate sponsors are the life-blood of our organization, not just for the funds that they provide but for the energy and dedication that their volunteers bring to our many projects.”
When finished, the home will be sold to a qualified partner family at cost, about $100,000, at 0% interest for 30 years. In addition, the partner family is required to put in 500 hours of “sweat equity,” which means that they must work alongside volunteers building their future home. Partner families must be able to afford the utilities and taxes associated with owning the home and they are also required to attend financial counseling sessions to prepare them for their new investment.
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As one of the largest banks in the region, First Niagara now has nearly 430 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and 26 branches in the Hudson Valley, including Mount Kisco, Ossining, Bedford Hills, Baldwin Place and Jefferson Valley.
About Habitat for Humanity of Putnam County
Habitat for Humanity of Putnam County is a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to making affordable and decent housing a matter of conscience and community action. People of all faiths and backgrounds unite to work towards the empowerment of families and development of communities through the construction of quality homes that meet a serious human need.
About First Niagara
First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank with nearly 430 branches, approximately $38 billion in assets, $29 billion in deposits, and approximately 6,000 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.firstniagara.com.
About First Niagara Foundation
First Niagara Foundation is a not for profit corporation founded in 1998. The Foundation is committed to supporting organizations in the communities in which we live and work with specific focus on youth and education, community development and neighborhood revitalization. In 2012 the Foundation contributed more than $10 million in charitable grants to community partners. For more information, visit www.firstniagara.com/community.
News Media:
Juliana Wynohradnyk
