November 7, 2007

Contact:  Erin Angell, 202-220-6317, eangell@nw.org

Chris Harper-Fahey, 617-585-5031, cfahey@nw.org

                                                           

NeighborWorks America Receives $140,000 in Grants from TD Banknorth to Shape Communities and Effect Change

Pictured left to right: Bharat Masrani, president and CEO, TD Banknorth; Deborah Boatright, Northeast district director, NeighborWorks America; Elizabeth Warn, president, TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation; LaRayne Hebert, New England district director, NeighborWorks America; Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America.

Boston, MA – Today NeighborWorks America announced that it received a $100,000 grant from the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation to support specific community needs identified by community leaders who attended the 28th NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute held in Boston October 25-28, 2007.  The $100,000 grant is in addition to $40,000 in support the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation had already given to the Institute. 

More than 400 residents and emerging community leaders, representing 55 NeighborWorks organizations from eight Northeast states and Puerto Rico, came together to discuss community issues, identify specific needs in their communities, and develop plans of action to address local challenges.  One local challenge discussed among the community leaders was the growing foreclosure crisis, and all participants focused heavily on identifying strategies to stop foreclosures in their communities and made them part of their community action plans.  The grant from TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation will help the organizations implement their action plan to bring about positive change in their home community.

"The support from TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation enables community leaders to tackle difficult problems in their neighborhoods. The communities of tomorrow need all the skilled leaders we can develop,” said LaRayne Hebert, director of the NeighborWorks America New England District.

Bharat Masrani, president and CEO of TD Banknorth, shared Hebert’s excitement and added, “TD Banknorth is committed to making a meaningful and positive contribution to the individuals, families, businesses and communities within our marketplace.  We are indeed delighted to partner with NeighborWorks America and their local member organizations in order to strengthen communities and transform lives.”

NeighborWorks America is dedicated to providing the highest quality training for community development practitioners and resident leaders throughout the country. In addition to holding regional Community Leadership Institutes, NeighborWorks America holds four national training institutes each year.  More than 100 courses are offered in expert content areas such as asset and risk management, homeownership preservation, foreclosure prevention and intervention to name a few.  The next NeighborWorks Training Institute takes place December 10-15, 2007 in Portland, Oregon. 

For more information, please contact Erin Angell, 202-220-6317, eangell@nw.org, or Chris Harper-Fahey, 617-585-5031 or cfahey@nw.org.

About TD Banknorth Inc.

TD Banknorth Inc. is a leading banking and financial services company headquartered in Portland, Maine and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TD Bank Financial Group headquartered in Toronto, Canada. TD Banknorth is one of the 25 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States, with over $40 billion in assets. TD Banknorth's banking subsidiary, TD Banknorth, N.A., operates banking divisions in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. TD Banknorth and TD Banknorth, N.A. also operate subsidiaries and divisions in insurance, wealth management, merchant services, mortgage banking, government banking, private label credit cards, insurance premium financing and other financial services and offers investment products in association with PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.TDBanknorth.com.

About the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation

The TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Banknorth Inc., a leading banking and financial services company headquartered in Portland, Maine. The Foundation’s mission is to serve the individuals, families and businesses in all the communities where TD Banknorth operates, having made over $22 million in charitable donations since its inception in 2002. The efforts of the Foundation are coordinated locally through TD Banknorth’s community development department and are focused on the areas of economic empowerment, youth development and community support. More information on the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation including an online grant application is available at www.TDBanknorth.com.

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing.To date, we have assisted nearly 850,000 low- to moderate-income families with their housing needs. Much of our success is achieved through our support of the NeighborWorks network ― more than 235 community development organizations working in 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $12.4 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.