MONEY SENSE CLASSES HELP PEOPLE TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR CASH AND CREDIT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009

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Bob Rinklin, e-Public Relations
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MONEY SENSE CLASSES HELP PEOPLE TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR CASH AND CREDIT

Amalgamated Bank has Partnered with the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation to Offer Free Financial Literacy Workshops in Brooklyn During April

Shown at a recent workshop are (left to right) the Amalgamated Bank's Lona Gill and Erik Shumar, who are course instructors, and attendees Black Rose Nelmes and Sylvia Nava. Photograph By: Photographic Excellence

Brooklyn, NY (BlackNews.com) - Right now is a good time to take a fresh look at how a household spends its money and uses credit.

To help families take charge of their finances, Amalgamated Bank (www.amalgamatedbank.com) will provide four, free Money Sense financial literacy workshops between April 7 and April 28. The sessions, which are open to the public, will be held at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation at 1368 Fulton Street (Restoration Plaza), near the intersection of New York Ave in Brooklyn (and one block from the A and C trains stop at Nostrand Avenue). Workshops will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.

"Overall the workshops will focus on core money issues like spending habits, understanding credit and reducing debt," said Erik Shumar, the Amalgamated Bank Vice President who prepared much of the course material. "Also, our instructors will take the time to answer each person's personal finance questions."

While all four workshops will deal with changing spending habits, each session will have a specific focus:

* April 7: Goal setting, spending plans and banking products
* April 14: Understanding, establishing and repairing credit
* April 21: Debt reduction
* April 28: Home ownership

The programs will be taught by Lona Gill, Vice President at Amalgamated Bank, and Patricia Bines, manager of the Bank's Bedford Stuyvesant branch at 1212 Fulton Street. Anyone who attends three of the four workshops will receive a coupon for a $50 credit to a new or existing Amalgamated Bank savings account. Each person will also receive a Money Sense workbook.

For more information and to reserve a space at the workshops, contact Ms. Bines at Amalgamated's Bedford Stuyvesant branch, 718-510-9001, or Ms. Bernice McRae at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, 718-636-6924 or bmcrae@restorationplaza.org.

About Amalgamated Bank
Established in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank has distinguished itself as the bank for working people. Chartered by New York State, the Bank is a FDIC insured commercial bank with $4.5 billion in assets. The Bank has 19 branches including 13 in New York City as well as one branch in each of the following locations: Lyndhurst, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Pasadena, California. The Bank also opened three retail branches in Las Vegas, Nevada during January 2008. Amalgamated Bank is owned by the UNITE HERE labor union. The Bank's website is www.amalgamatedbank.com

About Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the nation's first community development corporation, established in 1967, partners with residents and businesses to improve the quality of life in Central Brooklyn. The organization fosters economic self sufficiency by enhancing family stability, promoting the arts and culture and transforming the neighborhood into a safe, vibrant place to live, work and visit. Restoration is a dynamic institution that creates significant, sustainable and demonstrable impact in improving the well being of local residents and businesses.