Sovereign Bancorp and Subsidiaries Make Contributions Totaling More Than $367,000 to Educational Improvement and Scholarship Programs in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank announced today it recently contributed $367,222 to 43 educational improvement and scholarship organizations throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley, Berks County, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Central Pennsylvania regions.

The contributions were made as part of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, which provides tax credits to eligible businesses that contribute to scholarship or educational improvement organizations in Pennsylvania. Tax Credits may be applied against the tax liability of the business for the tax year in which the contributions are made.

Sovereign Bank contributed to the following organizations: Berks County -- Berks County Community Foundation, Reading, Pa. -- Foundation to Advance Catholic Education System Schools, Reading, Pa. Chester County -- Church Farms School, Paoli, Pa. Dauphin County -- Neumann Scholarship Foundation, Harrisburg, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Catholic Conference Scholarship Foundation, Harrisburg, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Classical & Christian Schools, Harrisburg, Pa. -- Central Pennsylvania Autism School Education & Resource Center, VISTA School, Middletown, Pa. Delaware County -- Academy of Notre Dame deNamur, Villanova, Pa. -- Chester Education Foundation, Chester, Pa. -- Charter Choice, Media, Pa. -- Children First America Delaware County, Chester, Pa. -- Junior Achievement of the Delaware Valley, Chester, Pa. -- Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation, Wayne, Pa Lancaster County -- Dayspring Christian Academy, Lancaster, Pa. -- The Janus School, Mount Joy, Pa. -- Linden Hall, Lititz, Pa. -- Susquehanna Waldorf School, Marietta, Pa. -- United Disabilities Services, Lancaster, Pa. Lehigh County -- Arts Quest, Bethlehem, Pa. -- Eastern Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation - Diocese of Allentown, Allentown, Pa. -- The Hillside School Lehigh Valley Independent School Scholarship Program, Macungie, Pa. Northampton County -- Blue & White Scholarship Fund, Bangor, Pa. Montgomery County -- Center School, Abington, Pa. -- Hatboro Horsham Educational Foundation, Horsham, Pa. -- Henkel Foundation, Blue Bell, Pa. -- Meadowbrook School, Meadowbrook, Pa. Philadelphia County -- Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools, Philadelphia -- Children's Scholarship Fund - Philadelphia -- Hope Partnership for Education, Philadelphia -- La Salle Academy's La Salle College High School Scholarship Fund, Philadelphia -- Project Home, Philadelphia -- Philadelphia Academies, Philadelphia -- Philadelphia Futures, Philadelphia Schuylkill County -- Schuylkill Community Education Council, Pottsville, Pa. York County -- Christian School of York, York, Pa. -- Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania, York, Pa.

"Through the EITC program, Sovereign is able to designate its tax dollars directly to organizations in the communities where we work and live," said John Killen, senior vice president, corporate CRA officer at Sovereign Bancorp. "We are pleased to support educational programs, as well as provide scholarships for children."

In addition, the Sovereign Bank Foundation, through its "Spirit of Your Neighborhood Campaign," supports non-profit organizations with charitable grants, thereby making a difference in youth and educational programs, community and economic development programs, health and human services, as well as arts and culture. Last year more than 600 community organizations received more than $3.6 million through the Sovereign Bank Foundation.

About Sovereign

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") , is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $60 billion financial institution with more than 650 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately 10,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, trust and wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 19th largest banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com/ or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.