Providence House Receives $250,000 Gift from Ohio Savings Bank; Helps Complete Major Campus Expansion

Posted August 01, 2012 in Press Releases

Cleveland – Providence House today announced a generous commitment from Ohio Savings Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, for $250,000 to their “Protect the Promise” campaign that will help complete the first phase of the largest campus expansion in the Crisis Nursery’s history. Providence House has been successfully raising money to support the campus expansion, but the Ohio Savings Bank gift allows them to meet their fundraising goal for construction to open their new state-of-the-art facility this fall.

“Ohio Savings Bank has been a longtime partner and friend of Providence House,” said Natalie Leek-Nelson, President and CEO of Providence House. “Without the generosity of Ohio Savings Bank, we would not be able to complete our campus expansion and serve more children and families in crisis.”

This is Ohio Savings Bank’s second substantial grant to Providence House. The first grant allowed Providence House to purchase and renovate a large Victorian home to serve more children on West 32nd Street, back in 1989. It was named “Leo’s House” in honor of Leo Goldberg, founding father of Ohio Savings Bank, and Leo Greener, Providence House Founder Sr. Hope Greener’s father. The Providence House campus, which included an original House on the east side of West 32nd Street and the new Leo’s House on the West side, was then named “The Ohio Saving’s Children’s Village” in celebration of the bank’s generous centennial gift.

This year, as part of the NYCB Family of Banks, Ohio Savings Bank renewed its commitment to the Ohio Savings Children’s Village at Providence House with a gift of $250,000 to help the organization reach their goal for its current expansion efforts.

"As part of our commitment to the Greater Cleveland community, Ohio Savings Bank and New York Community Bank are proud to provide this special gift to enable Providence House to care for and protect more at-risk children and families," said Cindy Flynn, Chief Administrative Officer of New York Community Bank. "This exciting collaboration is the extension of a long-standing partnership with Providence House and more than 100 years of service to the Ohio City neighborhood. It is an honor for Ohio Savings Bank to play such an active role in supporting the future of this community.”

Providence House launched the “Protect the Promise” campaign in spring 2011. Recent changes in state facility policies severely impaired the organization’s ability to serve more children at a time when the numbers of children facing abuse and neglect in Cuyahoga County were substantially increasing. Leo’s House is currently the site of a $2.3 Million expansion project that is scheduled for completion by late November, 2012. The expanded crisis nursery will allow Providence House to care for 20 children at a time and increase the ages of children served from newborn to six up to the age of 10. As a result of this expansion, Providence House will be able to serve an additional 125 at-risk children each year.

Supporting our neighbors is an important part of our community involvement philosophy, which focuses on those who need it most," Flynn added.

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About Providence House:
Providence House is one of the nation’s first crisis nurseries offering emergency shelter and care to children at risk for abuse and neglect. More than a children’s shelter, we provide families a free, voluntary option to safely remove their children from crisis and a safe, loving haven with quality early childcare services. Our holistic services include education, mentoring, case management and aftercare focused on family preservation. The primary goals of our services are to protect children from abuse and neglect, empower and strengthen fragile families, and build safer communities for every child. Providence House serves nearly 200 infants and children each year and partners with nearly 30 community organizations who help us stabilize families in crisis. Our results are noteworthy: last year 98% of our children were reunified with their parent(s) following an average length of stay of 28 days and only 30% have any engagement with the public child welfare system. For more information, visit provhouse.org.

Contact:
Emily Perry
216-651-5982 x 226
emilyp@provhouse.org

About New York Community Bank and its Ohio Savings Bank Division:
Ohio Savings Bank is a member of The NYCB Family of Banks and a division of New York Community Bank, a New York State-chartered savings bank serving customers throughout Metro New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, and Arizona.

The Ohio Savings Bank Division has had a presence in Ohio for over 120 years and accounts for 28 of the New York Community Bank’s 275 branches.

Our branches operate with an emphasis on service and convenience, many of our branches feature 24-hour ATM banking, and are open at least six days a week. We also offer our customers 24-hour access to their accounts with online banking, and the ability to bank 24/7 by phone.

Ohio Savings Bank is proud to be part of an organization that has been known for strength, stability and service for over 150 years. New York Community Bancorp, Inc., (NYSE:NYB) the holding company for New York Community Bank, and New York Commercial Bank is the 21st largest bank holding company in the nation with assets of over $43 billion.

Additional information about the Company and its bank subsidiaries is available at www.OhioSavings.com.