(Hershey, PA)  Hershey Area Playhouse is pleased to announce its partnership with Sovereign Bank to build a new permanent year-round community theater in Hershey.

Sovereign Bank will provide the Playhouse with a construction loan and a $10,000 grant to help facilitate the renovations of a 136-year old barn on the campus of Country Meadows of Hershey. Country Meadows and the Leader family have generously given the barn to the Hershey Area Playhouse to use as its theater for a dollar per year lease for 29 years.

Hershey Area Playhouse has received more than $914,000 in pledges toward its million dollar campaign goal. With plans to break ground in the fall, the Playhouse will create an intimate 150-seat theater to serve as an amateur arts center for the area. The Playhouse currently stages three productions per year and holds year-round acting classes for students of all ages.

“The commitment from Sovereign Bank takes us one step closer to reaching our goal and underscores Sovereign’s dedication to this community,” said Hershey Area Playhouse chairperson Susan Cort Black.

"Sovereign Bank appreciates all the wonderful things that the Hershey Area Playhouse brings to the community," said Kathy Schmidt, Vice President and Business Banking Officer at Sovereign Bank. "We're excited and proud to be part of this partnership, and we look forward to the creation of the new permanent theater."

The Hershey Area Playhouse was established in 1999 and has staged 19 productions in a variety of locations in the area. The Playhouse also has participated in numerous community events including parades, picnics, festivals and holiday events. The Playhouse promotes the creation of quality amateur theater arts for people of all ages, interests and abilities.

For more information about the Playhouse and its campaign to create the new theater, please call 533-8525 or visit www.hersheyareaplayhouse.com.

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), 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 www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

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