core sector communique

22-YEAR-OLD TO DELIVER 125,000 SIGNATURES TO BANK OF AMERICA

Part-time worker Molly Katchpole to hand-deliver 125,000 Change.org petition signatures demanding the bank cancel new $5 debit card fee

WASHINGTON, DC - Bank of America customer Molly Katchpole will hand-deliver 125,000 petition signatures demanding the bank cancel a new $5 monthly debit card fee to a Bank of America branch in downtown Washington, DC, on Thursday. If the bank refuses to cancel the $5 fee, the 22-year-old part-time worker plans to close her account on the spot.

When: Thursday, October 6, 2:00pm ET

Where: Bank of America, 1801 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006

What: Molly Katchpole will deliver her petition and close her bank account

Photo/ Video: Molly Katchpole will cut up her Bank of America debit card for the cameras in front of the branch. Molly will be available for on-site interviews. It is unclear whether the bank will allow camera crews to record inside the bank.

Molly Katchpole, a Bank of America customer who launched the onlinexpetition campaign on Change.org, works two part-time jobs in Washington, DC.

"With two part-time jobs, no health insurance and student loans to pay, I am struggling to get by each month," said Katchpole. "Now, Bank of America wants me to give them $60 a year just to spend my own money."

“The American people bailed out Bank of America during a financial crisis the banks helped create,” reads Katchpole’s petition. “You paid zero dollars in federal income tax last year. And now your bank is profiting, raking in $2 billion in profits last quarter alone. How can you justify squeezing another $60 a year from your debit card customers? This is despicable.”

Since the online petition campaign’s launch over the weekend, more than 125,000 Americans from all 50 states have joined. The campaign’s extraordinary growth is averaging more than 3,000 new supporters an hour and more than 40,000 a day.

“In less than a week, Molly Katchpole has recruited 125,000 people to challenge the nation’s largest bank,” said Change.org’s Director of Organizing for economic justice, Jess Kutch. “Clearly, Molly’s campaign reflects a widespread dissatisfaction with Bank of America’s decision.”


Change.org is the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change — growing by more than 400,000 new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city andcountry.