CITIZENS FINANCIAL BANK JOINS LAKE COUNTY MARCH OF DIMES IN MARCH FOR BABIES

MUNSTER, IN– May 3, 2010 - Citizens Financial Bank is very proud to have participated in the Lake County March of Dimes March for Babies on Sunday April 25 th. Citizens sponsored the 1 st checkpoint of the 5 mile walk and contributed $ 550 directly to the March of Dimes.  All walkers were given water and granola bars compliments of Citizens. 

Melinda McShane of Citizens’ Marketing Department was the Chairperson for the Registration/Accounting Committee. She described the bank’s participation. “We had over 60 walkers and an additional 45 volunteers from the bank who worked registration and accounting for the event.” Melinda continued, “Our Citizens’ team raised $1,563 for the March for Babies.”  In addition to the walk, employees participated in a Blue Jeans for Babies Day on Friday April 16 th. For a $5.00 contribution, employees can wear blue jeans to work on the designated day! The Blue Jeans for Babies Day raised $1,115.50 for the March of Dimes.

Victor Garcia, Northwest Indiana Division Director of the March of Dimes said, “We want to thank Citizens Financial Bank for their sponsorship of this event and their staff for volunteering and walking to help raise funds.” He continues, “We had over 1,500 walkers to step out on the 25th to help raise the necessary funds for healthy baby research and programs aimed at giving every Indiana baby a healthy start.”

Dana Talaga, Vice President of Marketing at Citizens Financial Bank said, “We are very proud of the employee volunteers from Citizens that have participated in the March for Babies. We strongly believe that the best way for us to truly be good citizens is to give back to the communities we serve. That exemplifies what we mean by Personal, personal banking.” She continues, “We look forward to continuing our support of the March of Dimes and to the goal of giving babies a healthy start in life.”

About the March of Dimes:The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit www.marchofdimes.com

Citizens Financial Bank, a $1.1 billion dollar independent bank, serves the financial needs of individuals, families and businesses through its network of 23 Banking Centers located throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Citizens Financial Bank was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Munster, Indiana. www.mybankcitizens.com