Helping children in need prepare for the first day of school LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- It may be the middle of summer, but Astoria Federal Savings has already started helping local children prepare for the first day of school. Thousands of area children may skip their first day of school this year, simply because they lack necessary school supplies and are just too embarrassed to go to school unprepared. Others attend class, but are forced to erase old notebooks and hide them from their peers. Astoria Federal is asking for the public's support to erase this problem with their 7th Annual Kids Tools for School Collection Drive. This community program puts new school supplies in the hands of those children least able to afford them, including hundreds of homeless children. Astoria Federal has once again teamed up with various schools and organizations to distribute the supplies before school starts in September. New school supplies, or cash donations, can be dropped off at any neighborhood Astoria Federal branch throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester through August 31. Astoria Federal is committed to "Putting people first" in the neighborhoods they serve, and will match up to $10,000 in cash donations to purchase supplies in bulk. "Arriving at school without supplies hurts a child's self-esteem," said Astoria Federal Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing Brian Edwards. "In the past six years, we've collected over five tons of supplies to help children in need, many of whom live in homeless shelters or have other special circumstances. It's a very simple way to make a big difference in the lives of children who really need our help." Astoria Federal is proud of the support they are receiving this year from their many program partners including: WABC-TV, The Long Island Railroad, Newsday's Parents and Children Magazine, The Long Island Radio Group, The Girl Scouts of Greater New York, The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, The Girl Scouts of Nassau County, The Brooklyn Cyclones, Anton Community Newspapers, Richner Communications/Herald Community Newspapers, The Queens Courier, the Brooklyn and Queens Chambers of Commerce, and Sal Picano of OST Supply of Farmingdale. The Kids Tools for School Collection Drive is part of Astoria Federal's Education First initiative, which includes the Student Savers and Bank-at- School programs, as well as The First Home Club(TM) to promote homeownership. These programs and others were all designed to encourage lifelong learning in the communities Astoria Federal serves. For additional information about Astoria Federal's Kids Tools for School Collection Drive visit http://www.astoriafederal.com/. About Astoria Federal Savings Astoria Financial Corporation, the holding company for Astoria Federal Savings and Loan Association, with assets of $21.9 billion is the sixth largest thrift institution in the United States. Established in 1888, Astoria Federal is the largest thrift depository headquartered in New York with deposits of $13.1 billion and embraces its philosophy of "Putting people first" by providing the customers and local communities it serves with quality financial products and services through 86 convenient banking office locations and multiple delivery channels, including its enhanced website, http://www.astoriafederal.com/. Astoria Federal commands the fourth largest 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 Federal originates mortgage loans through its banking offices and loan production offices in New York, an extensive broker network covering twenty-four states, primarily the East Coast, and the District of Columbia, and through correspondent relationships covering forty-four states and the District of Columbia. DATASOURCE: Astoria Federal Savings CONTACT: Tara Rogers, +1-516-327-7863, Web site: http://www.astoriafederal.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/104529.html

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