YWCA Brooklyn and Citizens Continue Partnership for Women's History Month

YWCA Brooklyn continued our partnership with Citizens this year to celebrate Women’s History Month through two events with the girls and young women we serve through our YW Brooklyn LEAD program, which included career exploration and financial literacy activities. 

The first event featured four women from Citizens, Erin X. Smithers, Operational Readiness for Business Banking Operations, Commercial Operations; Glenda Jackson-Eaddy, Senior Business Analyst; Michaela Letendre, Senior Digital Strategist, Employer Brand Marketing; and Yvonne-Marie Mendoza, Strategy Senior Consultant, Officer, who shared their college-to-career journeys with YW Brooklyn LEAD participants through a panel discussion that was moderated by YWCA Brooklyn’s program team. 

During the second part of our Women’s History Month partnership with Citizens, Glenda Jackson-Eaddy joined us once again, along with Emily M. Gutelius, Senior Risk Analyst, and Francesca Montanez, Branch Manager, to lead a financial literacy workshop entitled “The Almighty Dollar?” during which participants learned about the difference between debit and credit cards and how to use credit cards responsibly. The workshop’s lessons were particularly important for college-bound girls and current college students who could be susceptible to predatory credit card offers. 

Every interaction our YW Brooklyn LEAD participants have with successful professional women in their fields to learn about all the different options for their own potential career paths and to gain more financial knowledge is incredibly meaningful and we are grateful for the Citizens employees’ generous volunteerism with YWCA Brooklyn during Women’s History Month. We are proud to have Citizens as a partner for our YW Brooklyn LEAD program, helping us to empower girls and young women of color in our community.