Citizens and YWCA Brooklyn 2026 Partnership

Since 2021, YWCA Brooklyn has partnered with Citizens to promote the economic empowerment of the women and girls we serve. Through their financial support and the volunteer efforts of their employees, we were able to bring another successful year of career exploration and financial literacy education to students in our YW Brooklyn LEAD program and residents who live in our permanent affordable housing.

In March 2026, we continued our tradition of exploring the college-to-career pathways of Citizens’ employees during Women’s History Month and were joined by three women of color from across the company for a virtual career exploration panel to expose our students to the variety of careers available in the financial services sector and learn from those women’s experiences. This year, each of our panelists hosted a virtual breakout room for students to rotate between in smaller groups where they were able to learn about the women who have inspired each Citizens employee and some of the challenges and most rewarding parts of their work. Our students were then able to engage with the Citizens volunteers by asking questions and sharing some of their own experiences. At the end of the event, everyone rejoined the main virtual room where students and panelists were able to share some of their key takeaways from the small-group breakout sessions. 

Additionally, three of our students were invited to Citizens’ She Means Business event at the New York Stock Exchange during Women’s History Month, which was aimed at inspiring and empowering young women as they consider future leadership paths. Our students spent the day learning from the experiences of women in high-level positions from Citizens, The Cigna Group, Dupont, the New York Stock Exchange, the New York Giants, and Public Theater through a panel discussion where they shared their personal stories and career journeys. They also participated in a financial literacy workshop,” Money Moves 101: Budget, Invest & Build,” and were able to witness the closing bell ceremony.  

Later that spring, Citizens visited YWCA Brooklyn to provide a financial literacy workshop for students in our YW Brooklyn LEAD program. The workshop taught our students about how to differentiate between wants versus needs, develop healthy spending habits, and create strategies for saving and financial goal setting. The workshop helped our students understand how to track where their money comes from and how it is spent, gain tools for spending money responsibly, how to set and balance a budget, and how to identify their savings style. Students also completed worksheets to map out their financial plans. In total, the career exploration panel and the financial workshop engaged 23 individual students, all of whom reported that they gained a better understanding of the career pathways they can pursue at a company like Citizens and learned more about responsibly spending and saving.  

Additionally, Citizens provided two financial literacy workshops in the spring and summer for our residents who have been impacted by gender-based violence, homelessness and poverty. Our Board of Directors member Jennifer Smith, the Vice President - Community Development Market Manager for the New York City Metro area at Citizens, visited YWCA Brooklyn in April to conduct the “Shield Your Finances: Practical Fraud Prevention” workshop, which taught our residents about preventing fraudulent activity in their bank accounts and online. During the workshop, Jennifer reviewed the ways to keep hackers at bay, identified the different forms fraud can take such as through social media, phishing and emails, and provided examples of when to not give out personal banking information. In the summer, Jennifer returned to YWCA Brooklyn with her colleague to provide Citizens' “Money Matters: Simple Steps to Save and Budget” workshop in June. The workshop focused on the different forms of savings accounts, how to create a budget, and how to put money aside using various strategies. These workshops were attended by 13 individual residents, all of whom reported increasing their knowledge about the topics covered. 

At YWCA Brooklyn, we are grateful to have such generous and engaged corporate partners like Citizens that enable us to create lasting change in our community through their financial support that make our programs and services possible and their employees’ efforts to bring their experiences and expertise to our constituents, contributing to their financial empowerment and expanding their economic opportunities.