Grant Awarded for NYC Community Garden Work

New York, NY, 1/23/2003: For the second year in a row, HSBC In the Community, the foundation established by HSBC Bank USA, has awarded the Trust for Public Land $20,000 to support environmental education and work in youth-based community gardens. At a celebration on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, students from Children’s Workshop School decorated their garden with handmade birdfeeders and accepted the award, a portion of which will benefit their Children’s Workshop Garden.

“Children and communities throughout New York City will benefit from this generous contribution by HSBC,” said Andy Stone, director of the New York City Program for the Trust for Public Land. “By reclaiming outdoor areas for the creation of school gardens, developing environmental curricula, training school educators, and establishing children’s programs at community gardens, we hope to ensure that New York City’s children, regardless of income, have varied opportunities to engage with and learn from their immediate environment.”

“HSBC’s philanthropic efforts are focused on two critical areas: education and the environment, said Linda Stryker-Luftig, president, HSBC in the Community and executive vice president, HSBC Bank USA. “Environmental education programs, like those conducted by the Trust for Public Land, play an important role in both of these areas.”

Funds will go to TPL’s Children’s Gardening Program, launched in 1991 to create gardening spaces for children in public schools and neighborhood community gardens, develop on-site educational programs, and train teachers and parents to conduct self-sustaining outdoor programs for children throughout the city. The program has established youth gardens and hands-on outdoor environmental education programs at 39 locations around New York City, serving children ages five through fourteen.

HSBC Bank USA has more than 410 branches in New York State, giving it the most extensive branch network in New York. The bank also has eight branches in Florida, two in Pennsylvania, three in California and seventeen in Panama.

HSBC Bank USA is the tenth largest US commercial bank ranked by assets and is a subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc, an indirectly-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC). Headquartered in London, and with over 8,400 offices in 81 countries and territories, the HSBC Group is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.

Founded in 1972, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that protects and enhances open space for the public’s use and enjoyment. The Trust for Public Land has preserved over 1.4 million acres nationwide. TPL has been active in New York City since 1978, and has provided organizational, outreach, real estate and construction assistance to hundreds of community groups.