YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS AWARDED $32,200 GRANT FROM PNC FOUNDATION TO CREATE FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Grand Rapids, Mich, – Nov. 16, 2011 – The YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids has been awarded a $32,200 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 grant from the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), will allow the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids to provide financial education for families in West Michigan. The instruction will be based on the lessons included in the “For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing and SavingTM,” multi-media bilingual financial education activity kit that Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame StreetTM, created for PNC.

The program fill follow the following three-pronged approach:

• Component 1: Early Childhood Financial Education at each YMCA Child Development Center. YMCA Lead Teachers at all five YMCA preschool programs will integrate the “For Me, for You, for Later” program into their existing curriculum.
• Component 2: Family Financial Education events at each of five YMCA Child Development Centers. These events will enrich current quarterly Family Event programs at each Child Development Center. Current Family Events feature the importance of family literacy. The addition of the “For Me, for You, for Later” program will add valuable financial education to these events.
• Component 3: Community Financial Education at each of five YMCA branch locations for parents and caregivers. This will allow families from across the community to pick a convenient location and date to benefit from this program.

“Through this grant from PNC, we can reach children in West Michigan at an early age and help establish smart habits that will last a lifetime,” said Jan Wierenga, Sr. vice president of the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids.

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.

“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 Sean Welsh, PNC regional president for West Michigan, 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. The grant to the YMCA of Great Grand Rapids supports this work by providing area preschool children and their families with basic financial concepts to better prepare them for success in school and life.”

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