NEW YORK, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking became a key corporate sponsor this week of Cents Ability, a grass roots charitable organization dedicated to providing under-privileged high school students with the necessary tools to take responsibility for their financial futures.

Societe Generale's sponsorship is designed as a long-term partnership and commits funds to satisfy the not-for-profit organization's current infrastructure and staffing needs and to help extend its reach to a greater number of schools and students. In connection with the sponsorship, Societe Generale will place Mark Kaplan, Chief Administrative Officer for the Americas region, and Lise Jones, Corporate Social Responsibility Ambassador in the U.S., on Cents Ability's Board of Directors to offer strategic guidance. Societe Generale has been involved with Cents Ability since 2008, providing employee volunteers to teach student workshops.

Cents Ability (cents-ability.org) partners with schools and community centers around New York City to conduct free financial literacy workshops for high school students. Its curriculum is taught in seven 45-minute sessions over three to seven weeks. Cents Ability's teachers are professionals in fields such as finance, media, education and law or college students pursuing business majors. These volunteers bring real world experience to the classroom while serving as role models to their students.

"On behalf of all of us at Cents Ability, we are privileged to fortify our partnership with Societe Generale at a pivotal time for our organization and the global financial literacy movement. We are thrilled about the impact and momentum that Societe Generale's commitment will have on our initiatives for expansion and achieving our mission of empowering students to attain their financial goals," said Cents Ability Co-Executive Director Conner McGee.

"Cents Ability provides students with financial literacy and awareness workshops that are often not offered in high school classrooms and that can have a significant positive impact on a student's long-term financial health," said Lise Jones. "We are happy to be their partner and have the opportunity to reinvest in our community in a meaningful way."

Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking encourages social development and environmental protection focusing on three central areas: Sustainable Banking, Carbon Neutrality and Citizenship. The firm's Citizenship Program aims to initiate pro-active, dynamic 'community involvement', supporting the bank's commitments in the area of professional and social inclusion, by combining corporate support to local communities and staff participation worldwide. Focusing on the common global theme of social inclusion via education, the Citizenship Program brings financial and human resources support as well as business expertise to partner charities. In the U.S., Societe Generale has focused its efforts on two primary educational organizations: The TEAK Fellowship, which helps talented New York City students from low-income families gain admission to and succeed at top high schools and colleges, and Cents Ability.

SOURCE Societe Generale; Cents Ability