JERSEY CITY, NJ – For one day, volunteers from The Provident Bank (www.providentnj.com) headed back to the classroom to help teach life skills at Martin Luther King Jr. School, Public School #11 in Jersey City.

Once again partnering with Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ), 26 Provident employee volunteers visited 13 classrooms as part of the JA Day program to offer financial literacy and teach basic economics to students. 

As part of the program, Provident volunteers broke from the standard public school curriculum to teach basic business, economics and other important life skills to 291 students ranging from kindergarten to third grade. JA Day is JANJ’s elementary school-level program, giving community volunteers the opportunity to teach financial literacy and workplace readiness. After receiving program training and lesson plans from a JANJ staff person, Provident employees met their classes and team-taught the interactive lessons during one half-school day.

“We are honored to once again partner with the Junior Achievement of New Jersey to help teach financial literacy in our schools and help provide our youth with essential life skills,” said Christopher Martin, president and CEO of The Provident Bank. “Our employees are always happy to have the opportunity to get involved within the community and head back to school for the day, too!”

Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12 to offer workforce readiness programs. This year, JANJ will reach more than 33,000 students. More information about Junior Achievement programs is available at www.jaofnj.org. 

“We are grateful to once again receive volunteer support from The Provident Bank. These volunteers serve as exemplary role models while conveying their professional experience and financial knowledge to students beginning to learn the importance of financial literacy,” said Dawn Schwartz, vice president of development at Junior Achievement of NJ.

About The Provident Bank

With $4.9 billion in deposits, The Provident Bank serves its customers via a network of 84 branches throughout northern and central New Jersey. The Provident Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), which reported assets of $6.8 billion as of September 30, 2009.

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Reverend Jessica Lambert, president of The Sharing Place food pantry and pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, was pleased to accept a $650 donation from The Provident Bank President and CEO Chris Martin, just in time for Thanksgiving. In place of their annual food drive, Provident employees opted this year to make financial contributions to the food pantry, so that needy families would have the pleasure of choosing their own holiday favorites. Bank employees purchased Provident VISA gift cards for the food pantry to hand out to those in need, enabling pantry patrons to follow their individual family traditions. Provident also donated reusable cloth grocery bags to help families carry their groceries home.

The Sharing Place, located in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at 440 Hoboken Avenue in Jersey City, is the largest food pantry in Hudson County, serving about 700 families a month. For information on The Sharing Place, visit www.stpauljerseycity.org.

About The Provident Bank

With $4.9 billion in deposits, The Provident Bank serves its customers via a network of 84 branches throughout northern and central New Jersey.  The Provident Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), which reported assets of $6.8 billion as of September 30, 2009.

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