►
From YouTube: Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities
Description
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy and Citizen's Bank is committed to help strengthen that part of our community. Mayor Walsh joins Citizens Bank Massachusetts President, Jerry Sargent, Citizens Bank Chairman and CEO, Bruce Van Saun, and Joel Sklar of the Boston Main Streets Foundation to celebrate the $500,000 contribution by Citizens Bank to support local workforce and economic development in Boston.
A
A
Welcome
to
the
YMCA
of
Greater
Boston,
this
is
this:
is
this
building
was
constructed
in
1912
to
be
a
YMCA?
The
cornerstone
was
laid
by
then
President
Taft,
who
had
some
amazing
words
to
say
about
social
service
organizations
and
their
place
in
their
role
in
the
community,
and
so
I
think
it's
appropriate
for
us
to
have
this
celebration
take
place
here
and
we're
so
honored
to
be
the
whole
site.
A
We
want
to
think
a
president
Vansant
or
advance
on
for
being
here
with
us
this
morning
and
our
great
friend
and
colleague,
Jerry
Sargent,
the
Massachusetts
president
of
Citizens
Bank.
We
have
the
pleasure
of
celebrating
Citizens
Bank
just
three
weeks
ago
for
the
great
work
that
we've
been
able
to
do
in
partnership
and
I.
Think
we
all
as
nonprofit
organizations,
feel
that
way
that
we
have
a
wonderful
opportunity
to
call
Citizens
Bank
our
partners
in
the
work
that
we
do
each
and
every
day
and-
and
today
is
a
celebration
of
that
in
that
work.
A
And
so
let
me
also
congratulate
mark
Valentine
on
his
new
new
role
and
we
look
forward
to
all
of
us
as
nonprofits
look
forward
to
working
with
you
mark
as
we
as
we
move
forward
and
in
this
work,
and
we
would
be
remiss
if
we
didn't
think
the
two
people
that
we
find
ourselves
working
with
more
often
most
closely
and
that's
Kerry
and
where's
Rick
Rick
is
here
Rick.
Where
are
you
and
Rick?
Thank
you.
A
A
B
So
this
is
why
I
do
not
like
following
this
guy
at
a
podium.
It
seems
like
I'm,
always
behind
him
at
a
podium
and
it
makes
it
hard.
So
thank
you,
James
and
and
more
importantly,
thanks
to
the
entire
YMCA
team.
This
is
an
amazing
team.
We
truly
enjoyed
our
celebration
with
his
team
at
the
sparks
event
last
month,
celebrating
the
work
that
the
Y
is
doing
in
our
community
every
day
is
a
real
honor.
So
thank
you,
James
to
you
and
your
team
and
I
thought
today.
B
B
The
second
number
30
is
30%
and
that's
the
increase
in
volunteerism
in
2018
in
Boston
over
2017,
so
we're
moving
at
the
right
direction
and
then
the
last
number
150
is
the
number
of
boards
in
committees
that
my
colleagues
at
citizens
sit
on
here
in
the
Boston
community.
So
I
tell
you
all
of
that,
because
I'm
really
proud
of
the
company
that
I
work
for
and
I'm
really
proud
of.
B
The
fact
that
my
colleagues
are
so
engaged
in
what
we're
doing
here
in
the
community
so
today
is
a
day
to
really
celebrate
12
very
special
organizations
and
I
can't
think
of
a
better
person
than
to
have
our
mayor
sitting
here
with
us
today.
So
I
want
to
thank
you
mr.
mayor
I
think
James
laid
it
out
really
well.
I
mean
this.
We
are
here
because
you
have
been
a
tireless
advocate
for
the
economic
development
neighborhood
revitalization
and
making
sure
that
every
citizen
of
this
city
is
being
given
an
opportunity.
B
So
we
all
know
that
Boston
is
the
home
to
some
amazing
nonprofit
organizations,
and
so
when
we
have
the
chance
to
celebrate
12
of
them
in
a
setting
like
this,
it's
a
really
special
moment
for
us.
So
today
we
want
to
acknowledge
that
we've
made
grants
that
total
a
half
a
million
dollars
in
support
of
these
organizations,
but
I
think
the
money
is
just
part
of
the
story.
It
gets
back
to
the
volunteerism
that
I
talked
about.
B
B
It's
creating
a
platform
for
I
think
success
for
people
in
need
and
I
could
go
on
and
on
whether
it's
build
or
whether
it's
bridge
or
future
chefs.
These
are
all
organizations
working
to
support
our
youth
here
in
the
city,
so
I
I
could
literally
go
on
and
on,
but
we
do
have
some
other
special
announcements
that
we
want
to
make
today
and
so
at
this
time
I
want
to
introduce
our
chairman
and
CEO
Bruce
Vance
on
Bruce,
as
you
may
or
may
not
know,
has
now
been
I.
B
Think
you're,
celebrating
your
fifth
anniversary
with
us
now
Bruce
and
so
five
years
of
Bruce's
leadership,
I
think,
has
created
an
absolute
revitalization
of
our
own
company
and
I.
Think
you
can
see
that
manifest
itself
in
many
ways,
the
least
of
which
is
not
the
way
and
we're
going
into
the
community
in
trying
to
really
play
an
active
role
and
a
lot
of
that
starts
from
the
top,
so
those
volunteer
hours
that
I
talked
about
that
starts
by
having
a
leader
who
leads
by
example.
So
let
me
introduce
to
you
Bruce
Vance,
on.
C
Boston's
been
a
very
key
market
for
citizens
and
we
have
a
very
strong
market
share
here
and
in
the
Commonwealth
overall
I'll
just
give
you
a
few
stats,
but
we
have
nearly
3,400
colleagues.
In
Massachusetts
we
have
over
200
retail
branches.
We've
got
team
serving
commercial
clients
that
operate
out
of
headquarters
at
28,
State
Street.
C
We
also
have
our
consumer
banking
operations,
headquartered
over
in
Dedham,
so
very
big
presence
here
in
Boston
and
in
Massachusetts,
one
of
the
things
that
we
find
and
when
we're
out
talking
to
our
customers,
that
attracting
talent
is
really
one
of
the
greatest
challenges
facing
employers,
including
banks
like
ourselves,
but
across
all
industries-
and
you
know
all
companies
are
dealing
with
a
very
changing
environment
and
a
need
for
constantly
upgrading
their
their
skills
of
their
their
labor
forces.
So
it's
citizens.
C
We
have
an
overall
umbrella
umbrella
effort
that
we
call
citizens
helping
citizens
that
really
focuses
on
three
major
areas.
The
first
one
is
fighting
hunger.
The
second
one
is
promoting
financial
literacy
and
the
third
one
is
strengthening
communities
and
citizens.
Helping
citizens
really
is
a
comprehensive
program
overall.
That
positions
us
to
better
take
advantage
of
the
tools
and
resources
that
we
can
bring
to
the
table.
A
few
things.
First
off
we
try
to
provide
funding
and
grants.
C
Last
year
we
provided
around
fifteen
million
dollars
of
of
cash,
which
obviously
goes
a
long
way
that
helps
organizations
operate,
launch
new
programs
and,
in
the
case
of
today,
launched
new
initiatives.
We
also
provide
leadership
and
strategic
support.
Jerry
mentioned
many
of
our
colleagues
are
serving
on
boards
as
advisors.
We
have
a
unique
skillset
to
do
that.
C
The
people
who
are
actually
involved
and
volunteering,
which
is
terrific,
I,
think
there's
still
a
lot
of
upside
from
that
number
by
the
way
and
I'm
constantly
promoting
that
when
I'm,
when
I'm
out
on
the
road.
But
you
know
here
today:
it's
particularly
meaningful,
because
workforce
development
is
really
key
aspect
of
the
strengthening
communities,
effort
that
we
offer,
where
we're
focusing
on
creative
solutions
to
the
toughest
challenges
in
our
neighborhoods
economic
development,
job
training,
small
business
development,
affordable
housing
and
neighborhood
revitalization.
C
We
know
that
having
a
good
job
is
about
more
than
just
having
a
paycheck,
so
we
really
try
to
focus
on
people's
ability
to
meet
their
needs
and
to
pursue
their
goals
and
their
dreams.
So
it's
very
rewarding
for
me
today
to
see
this
holistic
approach
come
to
fruition
as
its
doing
today.
With
that
as
background,
let
me
proceed
to
make
two
announcements
regarding
our
strong
support
of
workforce
initiatives
here
in
the
city
and
in
the
state.
C
First,
just
as
more,
we
announced
a
new
national
partnership
with
local
initiative
support
corporation
or
liske,
as
people
know
it
for
short,
which
support
workforce
development.
Solace
is
a
great
organization.
We've
been
working
with
for
several
years.
We
committed
$500,000
plus
to
support
to
innovative
programs
in
the
workforce
development
space
that
will
cover
three
major
cities,
Boston
Philadelphia
and
Providence,
and
both
of
these
opportunities
will
provide
skill
based
volunteer
opportunities
for
our
citizens.
Colleagues,
in
2019
the
first
one
is
called
the
health-related
bridges
to
career
opportunities.
C
That's
a
program,
that's
targeted
education,
training
and
coaching
to
support
and
connect
local
workforce
with
available
mid-level
jobs
in
high
demand
industries,
and
here
in
Boston
that
will
bring
needed
training
for
jobs
in
the
pharmaceutical
industry.
The
second
one
citizens
will
be
the
first
sponsor
to
bring
the
long
term
career
retention,
development
and
wage
advancement
coaching
program
to
work
on
shortening
these
names
a
little
bit
pilot
to
the
East
Coast.
C
Our
funding
will
provide
intensive
long
term
post
placement
coaching
to
a
hundred
and
twenty
program
participants
that
will
increase
their
wages,
improve
their
job
tenure
and
increase
their
occupational
skills.
I'd
love
to
invite
list,
Boston,
Executive,
Director,
Kalin,
Karen
Kelleher
to
stand
up
and
be
recognized.
Karen.
C
Now
I'd
like
to
turn
to
our
second
announcement
and
the
Boston
Main
Street
foundation,
is
a
public-private
venture
established
in
2007
by
the
city
of
Boston.
The
organization
strives
to
help
neighborhood
districts,
improve
economic
growth,
add
to
the
quality
of
life
in
the
community
and
create
a
better
experience
for
locals
and
tourists
alike.
C
You
might
not
know,
but
many
minority
and
immigrants
owned.
Small
businesses
operate
as
cash.
Only
businesses
due
to
lack
of
technology
and
lack
of
training.
Consumer
studies
show
that
only
11
percent
of
respondents
prefer
to
use
cash.
Forty
percent
prefer
credit
cards.
35
percent
prefer
debit
transactions.
So
obviously,
if
you
don't
have
the
latter
two
you're
not
really
in
the
game,
the
way
you
should
be
so
the
goal
of
this
program
will
be
to
partner
with
small
business
owners
with
point-of-sale
vendors
to
provide
the
latest
innovative
credit
card
processing,
equipment,
training
and
data
collection.
C
C
So
I'd
like
to
close
with
an
introduction
mayor,
Marty
Walsh,
has
been
a
tireless
advocate
for
the
Boston
Main
Street
foundation
to
foster
new
opportunities
for
neighborhood
small
business
and
sustain
a
more
engaging
environment
for
Boston
residents
and
visitors,
taking
full
advantage
of
the
city's
many
wonderful
and
diverse
Main
Street
districts.
His
leadership
has
been
pivotal
as
the
business
community,
nonprofits
and
government
officials
come
together
to
renew
our
commitment
to
addressing
workforce
and
economic
development
issues.
At
this
time,
it's
my
privilege
to
introduce
Boston
mayor
Marty,
Walsh.
D
Thank
you
thank
you,
Bruce,
and
let
me
stop
by
thanking
citizens
and
Gerry.
Thank
you
and
your
team
is
citizens
for
being
a
great
corporate
partner
in
the
city
of
Boston
in
the
Commonwealth
of
Massachusetts,
quite
honestly
and
the
organization
you
give
a
lot
of
money
away
today
by
the
way
keep
a
track.
So
thank
you.
Thank
you
for
that.
So
thank
you.
I'll
go
back
to
in
a
minute
James!
Thank
you
very
much
as
well,
and
I
want
to
have
a
stage
the
little
kid
little
guy
running
through
here.
D
Thank
you
for
doing
what
James
is
up
here
and
not
me
yeah.
That
was
incredible
Joel!
Thank
you
for
the
work
you're
doing
on
Main
streets
and
really
taking
the
foundation
to
a
whole
new
level.
I
want
to
thank
John,
barrows,
chief
economic
development-
that's
here
with
us
today
and
and
John's
entire
staff
and
Main
streets
and
everyone
here
from
the
city
this
this
stuff
that
we're
doing
in
the
city
in
the
directors
from
the
different
Main
streets.
Thank
you
for
being
here
today
without
having
incredible
people
working
together.
D
What
they're
doing
in
their
particular
part
of
the
world
is
making
it
so
important
as
far
as
Boston
being
a
caring,
City
and
caring
for
people
and
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
for
doing
it,
and-
and
you
know,
I've
worked
right.
If
I
thought
you
ought
to
get
trouble,
but
I've
worked
with
every
we've
all
work
with
every
single
organization
in
this
room.
D
So,
thank
you,
for
you
do
Main
streets
in
the
city
tying
it
all
in
together,
I,
really
understanding
the
importance
of
the
neighborhood
when
they
were
founded
here
in
Boston
over
20
years
ago.
It
was
really
about
getting
local
economic
development
opportunities
going
in
neighborhoods
in
the
Main
Street
program
has
done
that
and
kept
that
going
time
and
time
again
and
we
used
to
talk
about
one
or
two
different
Main
streets
many
years
ago
that
were
the
kind
of
shining
stars.
D
Thank
all
of
you,
for
you
do
every
single
day
as
well
and
I
want
to
thank
citizens.
You
know
anytime,
it's
important
to
have
good
strong
corporate
partners
and
not
just
citizens,
but
everyone
who
are
the
different
developers
that
are
in
the
room
that
support
the
main
streets
foundation.
Thank
you
for
that
as
well.
D
Today
is
about
citizens
and
the
announcements
they
have
made,
but
without
all
of
you
and
without
having
somebody
like
like
citizens
and
Jerry
in
particular,
because
we
work
with
you
having
somebody
really
leading
the
charge
here
in
Boston
to
show
the
others
delight
the
others.
The
way
I
want
to.
Thank
you
for
that.
I
have
a
whole
bunch
of
stats.
I'm
supposed
to
read
off
here
too,
and
I
might
get
to
that
a
minute.
You
know
40,000
small
businesses,
if
I,
don't
jump
irises.
D
You
know
the
beauty
is
I.
Talk
about
this
a
lot
and
and
to
your
announcement
today.
Boston
is
in
a
Marin
City
28%
of
the
residents
that
live
in
our
city
were
born
in
another
country.
48%
of
the
people
that
live
in
our
city,
a
first-generation
like
I,
am
51
percent
of
people
in
our
city.
Are
people
of
color
in
52%
of
the
households
lead
in
our
city
led
by
women?
So
you
think
about
the
diversity
of
our
city.
How
important
is
the
investments
that
we
need
to
make
in
those
areas?
D
It's
so
important
that
we
do
that.
We
have
40
thousand
small
businesses
represent
more
than
a
third
of
the
business
revenue
and
nearly
half
of
all
the
private
sector,
employment
here
in
the
city
of
Boston.
So
you
think
about
our
bread
and
butter.
Is
our
small
businesses?
I
was
asked
a
lot
of
questions
yesterday
and
John
was
about
Amazon
and
bringing
his
on
in
or
not,
and
you
know
what
we
both
said
was
that
you
know
we
were.
D
We
were
honored
to
be
part
of
the
conversation
of
Amazon,
but
at
the
end,
the
day
Amazon
chose
two
other
cities
and
good
good
luck
to
the
two
cities
and
I'm
happy
for
them,
but
but
I
bread
and
butter
is
our
small
businesses.
Our
bread
and
butter
is
that
the
immigrant
who
starts
a
business,
our
bread
and
butter
is
the
immigrant
family
that
you're
going
to
be
helping
with
the
grants,
have
really
helped
them
bring
their
technology
and
bring
that
company
into
the
21st
century.
D
That's
really
about
that's
the
future
of
our
city
right
there
and
that's
the
bread
and
butter
and
that's
what
Main
Street
is
all
about
in
all
of
you.
So
I
just
want
to
thank
everybody
for
being
here
today.
I
want
to
thank
citizens
again
for
your
continued
commitment
to
our
city.
I
want
to
thank
all
the
Main,
Street
directors
that
are
here
today.
Thank
you
for
your
great
work
and
you
know
different
neighborhoods
to
all
the
different
foundations
and
different
organizations
that
are
here.
D
I
want
to
give
a
special
shout
out
to
the
homeless
organizations
here
today,
because
four
years
ago
we
sat
at
a
table
and
we
started
talking
about
dealing
with
homelessness.
And
how
do
we
deal
with
a
different?
We
took
our
plan
and
threw
it
out
the
window
and
we
came
back
with
a
whole
new
plan
because
we
work
with
E
and
E
and
we
work
with
the
bridge
and
we
work
with
Pine
Street.
D
We
worked
with
all
the
folks
to
come
up
with
a
different
model
here
in
the
city
and
the
different
model
that
people
can
steal
and
use,
and
it's
working
with
house
1,800
people
in
the
last
four
years
collectively,
and
we
just
got
a
federal
five
million
dollars
to
come
up
with
a
new
plan.
New
policy
for
youth
homelessness.
We're
gonna
continue
to
work.
D
B
So
Thank
You,
mayor,
Walsh
and
I
think,
most
importantly,
thank
you
for
creating
the
conditions
that
enable
us
to
be
successful
and
to
partner
together,
and
it
takes
a
tapestry
of
you
know,
organizations
to
come
together
and
really
make
this
all
work
and
you've
set
the
tone
and
created
the
conditions.
So
thank
you
for
that.
So
you
just
heard
about
Boston,
Main
streets
and
we're
very
lucky
today,
because
we
have
Joel
Scala
here,
who
is
the
chairman
of
the
Main
Street
board
Joel's,
also
a
principal
at
Samuels
and
associates
and
I
know.
E
Thanks
Jerry,
this
is
an
incredible
event
and
it
really
is
exciting
to
be
part
of
this
overall
presentation
of
these
grants
by
citizens,
because
it
really
shows
the
breadth
of
the
impact
that
the
business
community
in
Boston
led
by
citizens
today
can
have
in
participating
in
in
the
health
and
the
growth
of
the
community.
So,
on
behalf
of
the
Boston
main
streets
foundation
and
all
the
districts
who
are
here
in
force
today,
you
heard
them.
E
So
that's
really
special
I
want
to
acknowledge
that
I
also
want
to,
of
course,
thank
mayor
Walsh
for
his
incredible
leadership.
It's
worth
saying
again
supporting
small
businesses
throughout
the
city,
the
chief
of
economic,
develop,
John
burrows,
who
oversees
all
the
economic
development
functions
and
his
whole
main
street's
team,
newly
now
being
led
by
natalia
or
to
bay,
and
we're
thrilled
to
have
her
aboard
she's
got
such
a
great
knowledge
of
the
overall
plans
for
the
city.
E
I
also
want
to
give
a
shout
out
this
steve,
gilman
and
emily
patrick,
who
really
led
the
charge
together
with
kari
and
pulling
this
whole
application
and
grant
program
together.
This
was
something
that
really
took
a
lot
of
effort
and
thought
and
creativity.
So
a
lot
has
changed
since
the
foundation
was
formed
in
2007.
There
was
no
such
thing
as
twitter
or
instagram,
believe
it
or
not.
E
The
oldest
millennials
were
just
starting
to
graduate
college
and
people
actually
pay
for
things
with
cold
hard
cash
here
in
2018,
where
everything's
just
one
click
away,
small
businesses
need
to
find
innovative
ways
to
keep
pace
with
technology
that
drives
their
business
transactions.
I've
been
hugely
impressed
with
the
work
of
the
boston,
main
street's
executive
directors
to
boost
foot
traffic
and
engagement
in
the
neighborhoods
programming
like
Trolley,
Tours,
art,
crawls,
mobile,
apps,
all
kinds
of
education
programs.
E
They
really
do
a
lot
of
work
and
without
this
foundational
understanding
of
technology,
though,
to
reach
those
new
consumers
that
we're
bringing
to
the
communities
to
handle
that
foot
traffic
to
really
grow
and
engage
the
businesses
directly.
It's
hard
to
take
advantage
of
that
and
traditional
shops
will
be
left
behind
in
this
whole
wave
of
growth,
so
cash
only
businesses
have
been
long
been
common
in
the
immigrant
and
minority
communities
in
the
city
of
Boston
as
becoming
a
barrier
to
attracting
younger
plastic
and
cellphone
wielding
shoppers.
E
With
this
generous
grant
from
Citizens
Bank
we're
tackling
these
21st
century
challenges,
we'll
be
hiring
a
technology
consultant
to
work
with
the
vendors
and
the
businesses
across
the
districts
to
create
and
purchase
appropriately
tailored
point-of-sale
solutions.
So
they
can
begin
accepting
digital
payments
and
become
part
of
the
technology
advancements
that
are
happening.
This
not
only
makes
for
more
convenient
and
quick
errs
in
sumer
transactions,
which
it
does
these.
His
systems
help
businesses
better
understand
their
products
and
their
profits.
E
They
create
safety
for
businesses
who
don't
need
to
keep
cash
around
in
excess
before
making
a
deposit
at
the
bank,
and
they
build
a
database
of
customers
who
can
be
marketed
to
and
brought
back
for,
repeat
business.
So
this
effort
will
have
a
huge
impact
on
businesses
across
the
city,
dozens
of
businesses
within
the
main
streets,
and
so
again,
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
citizens
for
your
vision
and
your
leadership
and
your
partnership
with
us
and
for
investing
in
Boston's
commercial
districts.
B
B
So
this
is
a
very
special
place,
doing
very
special
work
and
I
think
this
team
is
up
to
the
task
and
I
also
want
to
end
by
thanking
all
of
you
for
being
here
today,
showing
up
as
you
always
do.
That
alone
makes
a
huge
difference.
So
it's
great
to
see
so
many
friends
in
the
room
working
together
and
we
have
one
very
special
Thank,
You
Pine
Street
Inn
through
its
icater
program.
A
workforce
development
program
has
lunch
prepared
for
us
today.