Charter One Bank will serve as Corporate Dinner Benefit Chair of its 2003 Fourteenth Annual Corporate Dinner Benefit of the Chinese American Service League (CASL) in Chicago, to be held in May 2003 at a downtown Chicago location being finalized. Allen A. Rodriguez, Vice President and Director of Community Development for Illinois at Charter One, will serve as Dinner Chair. In the past, the event has raised nearly $300,000, and attracted over 600 top Chicago business leaders. Of particular significance next year, the 2003 celebration will mark both CASL's and Charter One Bank's 25th anniversary of service to the community. "We are delighted to partner with Charter One Bank, the first community bank in Chinatown to join CASL as Dinner Chair of this auspicious event," said Esther Wong, executive director of the agency. "We know that CASL's Corporate Dinner Benefit helps raise much-needed funds for continued quality of service delivery," said Allen Rodriguez. "We have been impressed with CASL's track record its first 25 years, and we look forward to many more." Founded in 1978, the Chinese American Service League (CASL), a 501(C)(3), is the Midwest's largest and most comprehensive social service agency of its type. With a budget of $5.7 million, CASL's 190 dedicated bilingual and bicultural staff and 300 volunteers annually serve over 14,000 clients. The CASL is a United Way social service agency located in the heart of Chicago's Chinatown. Charter One Financial (NYSE: CF) has approximately $39 billion in total assets, making it one of the 25 largest bank holding companies in the country. The Bank has 461 branch locations in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The Company's diverse product set includes: consumer banking, indirect auto finance, commercial leasing, business lending, commercial real estate lending, mortgage banking, and retail investment products. (Sourece: ENERI Communications, LLC )