Washington Trust Contributes $22,000 to NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley

Donation Supports New "Focused Neighborhood Homeownership Initiative"

WESTERLY, R.I., April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Trust ("the Bank") today announced that the Washington Trust Charitable Foundation has awarded $22,000 to NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley to support their development and execution of a new Focused Neighborhood Homeownership Initiative ("Initiative").

The goal of the Initiative is to assist 20 renters from underserved communities on their journey to become a first-time homeowner. Available in both English and Spanish, the program will provide culturally and linguistically relevant education sessions, personalized credit counseling, homebuyer readiness services, mentoring, and post-purchase support.

"Washington Trust is committed to helping our neighbors realize the dream of homeownership," said Rolando Lora, Washington Trust Executive Vice President, Chief Retail Lending Officer and Director of Community Lending. "We are proud to support their efforts as this investment is a testament to NeighborWorks' incredible commitment to create homeownership opportunities for underserved communities."

"We are grateful for the support of Washington Trust as we launch this very intentional and innovative program," said Joe Garlick Executive Director of NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley. "We look forward to getting this Initiative off the ground to not only serve 20 individuals and families on their homeownership journey, but to also build the infrastructure that will sustain a pipeline of future homeowners from these communities long into the future."

The Focused Neighborhood Homeownership Initiative is scheduled to begin accepting applicants in early May.

The grant is part of more than $459,000 of total giving granted by the Washington Trust Charitable Foundation to 60 organizations throughout the Bank's footprint, $122,000 of which was directed to support safe and affordable housing and homeownership programs.

ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST^®

Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is recognized as the oldest community bank in the nation, the largest state-chartered bank headquartered in Rhode Island and one of the Northeast's premier financial services companies. Washington Trust values its role as a community bank and is committed to helping the people, businesses, and organizations of New England improve their financial lives. The Bank offers a wide range of commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management services through its offices in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts and a full suite of convenient digital tools. Washington Trust is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing lender. Washington Trust is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a publicly-owned holding company which trades on NASDAQ: WASH. For more information, visit the Bank's website at www.washtrust.com or the Corporation's website at ir.washtrust.com.

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SOURCE The Washington Trust Company