Bank donates $40K to youth mentoring program

The nonprofit arm of Buffalo-based  First Niagara Bank has donated $40,000 to YWCA White Plains and Central Westchester Inc. for its after-school youth mentoring program.

Girls Empowered through Meaningful Support was one of 33 grant recipients awarded through First Niagara Foundation’s Mentoring Matters program, which donated $1 million to reach 45,000 youths across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The program is designed to help close the achievement gap, improve children’s school attendance and performance, prevent substance abuse and behavioral problems, and give at- risk youth a chance to explore their potential whether in college or the workplace.

“Mentoring provides significant, tangible, positive changes for young people, including better grades and behavior, improved school attendance, and evidence of a brighter future,” Gary Crosby, president and CEO of First Niagara Bank, said in a written statement. “Mentoring Matters enables us to collaborate with proven, results-oriented mentoring organizations across our footprint that do great things each and every day.”

Each year, 100 low-income girls participate in the YWCA mentoring program, said Cathie Schaffer, president of First Niagara’s tristate region. The program includes academic support from kindergarten through high school, including SAT and college preparation and professional development.

First Niagara Foundation supports other area organizations including the Nyack Center’s after- school tutoring program and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County’s juvenile mentoring program. Each organization received a $5,000 grant.