Students Kick off the School Year With Brand-New Books Through Support From Astoria Bank

BROOKLYN, N.Y., September 18, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Through its participation in CBS EcoMedia’s EducationAd program, Astoria Bank is funding 5,000 brand-new books for New York City schools. In partnership with education nonprofit First Book, Astoria Bank is providing the books to help students from Central Queens Academy Charter School and P.S. 361 The East Flatbush Early Childhood School start the school year off strong.

To celebrate their support, Astoria Bank took part in a reading party with partner First Book at P.S. 361. Employees read books aloud to students and talked about the importance of financial literacy. Each student received new books to take home. Notable event attendees included Tiffany Frazier, Principal at P.S. 361, Anastasia Vollis, Regional Manager and Vice President/Banking Division, Astoria Bank, representatives from First Book, and Theresa Schieber, EcoMedia Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategic Partnership Development.

Located in Elmhurst, N.Y., Central Queens Academy is a tuition-free public charter middle school serving students and families in Community District 24. Offering scholastic achievement in a small school setting for students grades 5 through 8, the charter school focuses on college preparation and career readiness and operates on the extended learning day model, extended school year and after school programs.

P.S. 361 East Flatbush Early Childhood School serves students and families in Community District 22, in Brooklyn. With roughly more than 600 students in pre-K through second grade, the school focuses on the role of play, experience and hands-on activities to foster each child’s development and to better prepare them for transition into third grade.

“We’re so pleased to be involved in this collaborative effort in our local schools. Our bankers are all very excited to volunteer and help children better understand the importance of saving, even at a young age. Programs such as this really help us make a difference in the communities we serve,” said Brian Edwards, Executive Vice President of Astoria Bank.

“Helping kids develop a lifelong love of reading requires a plentiful supply of high-quality, engaging books,” said Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO of First Book. “By putting these critical educational resources in to the hands of local children, Astoria Bank and CBS EcoMedia are improving lives today and investing in the future of their city.”

“There is no underestimating the power of books and the impression they can create on impressionable young minds,” said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia. “We are grateful to Astoria Bank for their support of First Book and of New York City students.”

About Astoria Financial Corporation

Astoria Financial Corporation (NYSE: AF), with assets of $15.3 billion, is the holding company for Astoria Bank.  Established in 1888, Astoria Bank, with deposits in New York totaling $9.2 billion, is the second largest thrift depository in New York and provides its retail and business customers and local communities it serves with quality financial products and services through 87 convenient banking branch locations, a business banking office in Manhattan, and multiple delivery channels, including its flexible mobile banking app.  Astoria Bank commands a significant deposit market share in the attractive Long Island market, which includes Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties with a population exceeding that of 38 individual states.  Astoria Bank originates multi-family and commercial real estate loans, primarily on rent controlled and rent stabilized apartment buildings, located in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area and originates residential mortgage loans through its banking and loan production offices in New York, a broker network in four states, primarily along the East Coast, and correspondent relationships covering 13 states and the District of Columbia.

About First Book

First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that has distributed more than 130 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada.  By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.

At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS.

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.

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Press Contact:

Theresa Schieber

Theresa.schieber@ecomediacbs.com

212-975-3471