$63,500 donated for Island education, medicine and culture

Newspaper in Education program, Joseph Maffeo Children's Program and Hindu Temple all benefit

Three Staten Island organizations have donated a total of $63,500 to various local programs and projects including a $25,000 donation provided by Richmond County Savings Foundation to the Advance Newspaper in Education (NIE) program, which provides newspapers to Staten Island classrooms for use as an educational tool.

"The foundation is pleased to have this opportunity to partner with the Staten Island Advance in providing this wonderful program for the students of Staten Island," said Michael F. Manzulli, president of the foundation. "Newspapers in the classroom have proven to be another important educational tool in equipping our youngsters for success in our global society."

The NIE program, offered to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, is used to supplement instruction in a variety of subjects, from math to language arts. Teachers who participate in the program receive classroom newspapers and teaching materials at no cost.

The Richmond County Savings Foundation's donation will pay for classroom newspapers, which are provided by the Advance at an educational discount.

"We are very appreciative of the Richmond County Savings Foundation's involvement with NIE," said Cassondra Sommer, Advance educational services director. "The foundation's generous donation enables students all over Staten Island to benefit from the Newspaper in Education program."

The Joseph Maffeo Foundation gave $30,000 to the Joseph Maffeo Children's Program at Staten Island University Hospital.

The check was presented by husband-and-wife team Linda and Keith Manfredi to University Hospital President and CEO Anthony Ferreri. Mrs. Manfredi is the sister of late Firefighter Joseph Maffeo.

The nonprofit foundation is named after Maffeo, a city firefighter and Grant City resident, who was assigned to Ladder Co. 101 in Brooklyn and was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The funding will be used to redesign and renovate the pediatric unit at University Hospital. The project will help to provide an environment that is welcoming to both children and their families.

Citibank donated $8,500 to the Staten Island Hindu Temple. The check was presented by Mary Lou Ferraro, financial center manager of Citibank's Grasmere branch, community relations officer Michael Flanigan, financial executive Leonard Kinsman and Michael Scavelli, area manager of Citimortgage to Dr. Krishne Urs, chairman, and Gopi Pillai, secretary, of the Staten Island Hindu Temple, Inc.

The funding will be used to complete the Temple's building project. The completion date is tentatively scheduled for the end of the year.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.