Twenty-Five Outstanding Local High School Graduates Receive Emigrant's Annual Scholarships in Bronx and Brooklyn Ceremonies

NEW YORK, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its continuing commitment to the local communities in which it operates, Emigrant Savings Bank today announced that it has awarded 25 scholarships to high school students in Brooklyn and The Bronx through the Emigrant Savings Bank Community Scholarship Fund.

Emigrant Savings Bank-Bronx/Westchester and Emigrant Savings Bank-Brooklyn/Queens presented $1,500 community scholarship awards to twenty-five accomplished students chosen by Emigrant's Scholarship Committee for demonstrated academic excellence and a personal commitment to community improvement. The 2011 winners were selected from applicants at participating Bronx and Brooklyn high schools.  

"Emigrant is a community bank with a long history of helping generations of Americans achieve and succeed," said Howard P. Milstein, Emigrant Savings Bank's Chairman and CEO. "Through programs like our Community Scholarship program, we continue to look for ways to make a real difference in our local communities."

"We congratulate this year's scholarship winners, each of whom has demonstrated the value of hard work and dedication in pursuing his or her dreams," Mr. Milstein added.

Awards Ceremonies and receptions in honor of the winners took place at Emigrant's retail branch offices in Parkchester on June 14th and Flatbush on June 15th.  Area business, community, and civic leaders joined the celebrations.  

In the Bronx, New York State Regent Dr. Betty A. Rosa delivered an inspiring keynote address encouraging recipients to continue their journeys with resolve and commitment.  A community service award was presented to Sister Mary Jo Lynch, Principal at Saint Pius V High School, for her long-standing commitment to the South Bronx and the school's involvement with Emigrant's Scholarship initiative.  

In Brooklyn, Dr. Jean Adilifu, Medgar Evers College Preparatory School Assistant Principal, congratulated the recipients on their exceptional educational accomplishments and encouraged them to diligently seek opportunities for demonstrating gratitude as they pursue the future.  Additional inspiration was offered by former recipients Father Caleb A. Buchanan, Associate Pastor at St. Ephrem Parish, who provided the invocation, and Terry-Ann Howell, Skidmore Alumna, who shared her undergraduate experience and expectations as an incoming law school student.

The Emigrant Savings Bank Community Scholarship Program, initiated in 1989, demonstrates the Bank's continuing investment in the Clinton Hill Brooklyn community. The program was begun following the complete refurbishment of the Bank's Myrtle Avenue branch. The Community Scholarship Awards were designed to facilitate the pursuit of higher education by students who showed academic promise despite economic disadvantages.  In 2007, Emigrant's Community Scholarship Program was expanded to the Bronx.  As of June 2011, more than $370,000 has been awarded between the two programs.

About Emigrant Bank

Founded in 1850 to serve the financial need of a growing America and a dynamic emigrant population, Emigrant Bank has served generations of new Americans who came to America to seek a "better way of life" for themselves and their families. In keeping with our core mission, Emigrant's branch-based giving was built upon a similar foundation of helping to sustain and improve the communities where we provide retail banking services.

Emigrant's branch-based contribution program supports local community initiatives that sustain and enhance the vibrancy of the neighborhoods where we provide retail banking services.  The regional focus of our savings banks allows us to identify needs where our financial support can build on the successes of non-profit organizations in our mutual service areas.  At each of Emigrant's regional banks, consideration is provided for contribution requests addressing five primary issues: education/youth initiatives, health/social services, cultural programs, faith-based programs, and community development.

SOURCE Emigrant Savings Bank