First Niagara Employees Raise More Than $10,000 to Benefit Student Financial Literacy

NYACK, NY (November 2014) – First Niagara announced today that employees in its Tri-State Region raised $10,528.75 in donations to benefit the Junior Achievement of the Hudson Valley (JAHV), an organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. First Niagara employees participated in a Bowl-For-Kids bowl-a-thon at Lucky Strike, Palisades Mall in West Nyack on November 20. Over 50 employees from the Lower Hudson West and Lower Hudson East branches solicited donations for Junior Achievement from family, friends and colleagues to participate.

“The Hudson East and West retail teams have raised the bar yet again and paved the path for a successful partnership with Junior Achievement of the Hudson Valley,” said Ada Myteberi-Ferreira, Pearl River Branch Manager. “This partnership is a natural fit and a great way to promote our Brand and Mentoring Matters efforts. At First Niagara we believe it’s never too early to start teaching children and teens that sound financial decisions can help them achieve their goals in life.”

Bowl for Kids is part of JAHV’s fundraising efforts to provide top quality financial literacy programs to thousands of students in grades K-12 in schools throughout the Hudson Valley. “We cannot express our gratitude enough to all of the staff at First Niagara who came out to support Junior Achievement,” said Orla Fitzsimons, Project Manager JAHV. “The money raised will help us deliver more programs into local high schools.”

About First Niagara

First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank with approximately 410 branches, $38 billion in assets, $28 billion in deposits, and approximately 5,800 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For additional information on First Niagara, visit us at www.firstniagara.com, follow us on Twitter @FirstNiagara, or like us on Facebook at FirstNiagaraBank.

First Niagara Contact:

Karen Crane

VP, Corporate Communications, Tri-State Region

(203) 789-2752

Karen.crane@fnfg.com

News Media: Juliana Wynohradnyk

Thompson & Bender

(914) 762-1900

juliana@thompson-bender.com