Run for it: Credit unions in the community
November 5, 2018 3:53 PM
Speed up
For the 8th straight year, Bellco CU, Greenwood Village, Colo., served as the presenting sponsor of the Bellco Colfax 5K. The race kicked off the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon weekend with an event that appeals to experienced runners while also providing a fun challenge for the entire family.
Let's ride
TruStone Financial FCU, Plymouth, Minn., hosted a "bike rodeo: in partnership with Maple Grove Fire Station 5. The CU’s free community event promoted bike and fire safety, had engaging activities for those in attendance and donated nearly 50 bike helmets to local youth.
Checking out the car show
Tinker FCU, Oklahoma City, Okla., hosted its 18th annual Miracle Car show to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The event raised $11,283 and was granted a $5,000 Miracle Match from Co-Op Financial Services, for a total donation of $16,283.
Workplace honors
West Jordan, Utah-based Mountain America CU ranked in the Top 10 “Best Places to Work in Idaho” for 2018 by POPULUS, a marketing and research firm, placing third in the Large Employer category. MACU earned a spot on the list for the 6th straight year.
Honoring USAF grads
David Sprague, president and CEO of Hanscom FCU, Hanscom AFB, Mass., attended the Air Force Junior ROTC Awards Night at Bedford High School and presented two students with awards. Separately, the CU sponsored the graduation ceremony for Hanscom Air Force Base’s five-week long Airman Leadership School, as it has done in the past.
People's Choice Awards
Diamond CU, Pottstown, Pa., won the 2018 People’s Choice Who’s Who in Business Award for Berks County’s Leading Credit Union from Berks County Living magazine. It marked the 11th time Diamond has been honored with this award.
Prep work
Quincy CU, Quincy, Mass., participated in and served on the planning committee for “Credit for Life Fairs" in Quincy, Braintree and Weymouth. The nationally recognized program is designed to prepare high school students for financial independence in the real world.
Scouts honor
St. Mary’s Bank, Manchester, N.H., partnered with the Daniel Webster Council to host Scouts from several troops as part of the Merit Badge Pro Series. This series enables scouts to go into businesses to interact with and learn from professionals while earning badges.
Having a ball
Andrews FCU, Suitland, Md., sponsored the 2018 DC National Guard Military Ball, hosted by the 113th Wing DC Air National Guard and DC National Guard.
Funding education
Peach State FCU, Lawrenceville, Ga., committed to donating $10,000 to Habersham County Schools’ REACH Georgia Scholarships over the next five years. The school system will receive $2,000 each year through 2022 from the credit union.
Best place to work
Indianapolis-based FORUM Credit Union recently placed sixth among large companies on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s “Best Places to Work” list for 2018. This marks the seventh consecutive year FORUM has received recognition from the chamber.
Hitting the jackpot
Great Lakes CU, Bannockburn, Ill., said Kiara Y. was the big winner of the CU’s Youth Savings Month contest. Kiara was presented with a $100 Visa gift card after being randomly selected as one of the first 80 youth accounts opened during the month.
Embracing reality
Longview, Wash.-based Fibre FCU, along with several of its community partners, hosted nine Financial Reality Fairs for students attending 12 local high schools.
Restoring history
Riverside, Calif.-based Altura CU once again was the title sponsor of the annual Riverside Tamale Festival, the signature fundraising event of the Spanish Town Heritage Foundation. This year’s event raised funds to restore the Trujillo Adobe, which was built in 1842.
Lucky 12 earn scholarship
Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU, Edgewood, Md., said the Credit Union Foundation of Maryland and the District of Columbia, Inc., selected KenJoh Fitzgerald, APGFCU member and Bel Air High School senior, to receive a college scholarship through the foundation’s scholarship program. He was one of 12 high school CU members to be awarded a scholarship.
Housing veterans
Point Breeze CU, Hunt Valley, Md., donated $15,000 to the Carroll County Veterans Independence Project. The donation will fully fund the county’s first tiny home, which will be used as transitional housing for local veterans.
Debit card program gives back
Indianapolis-based Indiana Members CU presented a check for $3,208 to the Community Health Network Foundation as part of an ongoing debit card give back program.
March of Dimes
Nutmeg State Financial CU presented the local chapter of the March of Dimes with a check for $43,000 at the credit union’s headquarters in Rocky Hill, Conn. The money was raised through the efforts of Nutmeg’s staff, members and business partners.
Photographer: KWBranson
Pitching in
Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal CU and its foundation hosted and sponsored the third annual Power of Sharing event highlighting the efforts of 25 area nonprofits. Coastal’s business partners and the foundation awarded more than $600,000 in charitable grants and in-kind giving to organizations that are making a significant impact in the communities Coastal serves.
$56k awarded in scholarships
Greater Nevada CU, Carson City, Nev., awarded $56,000 in scholarships. This year, GNCU received 108 scholarship applications, and 28 students were selected to receive $2,000 each for the 2018-2019 school year. Since 1999, GNCU has given more than $320,000 in scholarships.
Working together
United Solutions Company hosted the World Council of Credit Unions at the company’s headquarters in Tallahassee, Fla., for a day of collaboration.
Not your average business meeting
Fort Knox FCU, Radcliff, Ky., hosted its 67th annual business meeting and 2018 Community Fest. More than 700 credit union and community members attended this year's event, making it one of the most successful to date. During the event, the CU awarded $1,000 each to the four college-bound winners of the Howard Roush Memorial Scholarship.
Derrick Story
Free reads
Redwood CU, Santa Rosa, Calif., sponsored a Little Free Library and donated it to Hidden Valley Elementary School, where 132 elementary students lost homes in the October 2017 fires. The campus itself lost its satellite location, which housed 80 of its elementary-level students.
Continuing to combat cancer
America First CU, Riverdale, Utah, went to West Haven Elementary and encouraged more than 400 students to participate in the 12th annual Hawk Walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society. This year, America First added $2,500 to the $3,200 raised by West Haven students and parents, for a donation totaling $5,700.
Rudolph makes an early cameo
Employees from Freedom CU, Warminster, Pa., participated in Red Nose Day, a FUN-raising event dedicated to raising money to help lift children and young people out of poverty. The CU made a contribution on behalf of all employees and everyone received red noses to wear.
Free coffee?
Westbury, N.Y.-based Nassau Financial FCU celebrated the move of its East Meadow branch to its new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration. The location has many high-tech features and perks, including four Interactive Teller Machines, nine video displays, a coin machine, charging stations with free Wi-Fi, plus a free coffee bar.
Recognizing excellence
Taunton FCU, Taunton, Mass., was recognized by the Taunton School Committee for the CU’s commitment to excellence and outstanding contributions to the Taunton Public School District for the past 20 years.
CU's anatomy
San Antonio-based Security Service CU and its Charitable Foundation donated $5,000 to the Support Lending for Emotional Well-Being, or SLEW Cancer Wellness Center, to purchase medical supplies for cancer patients in need. Specifically, mastectomy bras, prostheses, compression bandages and lymphatic sleeves.
Wear red
Global CU, Spokane, Wash., launched the 2018 Wear Red campaign. In collaboration with radio station KXLY, Global celebrated and supported men and women in the Armed Forces by wearing red every Friday this summer through Sept 11.
Nicole Siciliano
Next up: higher education
New York City-based Municipal CU awarded $71,000 in scholarships to college-bound high school seniors: nine memorial scholarship grants of $5,000 each and 13 grants of $2,000 each.
Vets, baseball and clothes
Erie FCU, Erie, Pa., honored local veterans at an Erie SeaWolves baseball game by presenting the Veterans Miracle Center of Erie with a truck full of new clothing and personal care items that were collected at the CU’s 9 branches.
Scholarly pursuits
Robins Financial CU, Warner Robins, Ga., awarded scholarships of $2,000 each to 11 high school seniors. This is the 22nd year Robins Financial has presented scholarships to graduating seniors. It has given nearly $500,000 in college scholarships to date.
One patriotic week
America’s Christian CU concluded its annual Patriot Week festivities with a Family Day & Awards Ceremony hosted at the credit union’s headquarters in Glendora, Calif. Throughout the week, ACCU honored local veterans, U.S. military, military work dogs and first responders in partnership with Operation Community Cares and Project Glendora Yellow Ribbon.
Career day
Educators CU, Racine, Wis., celebrated a year of success with co-op students – area high school students seeking real-world job experience. The 2017-18 class of co-ops was the first group to work at the credit union’s home office, and the first to work not only as tellers, but also in its Member Response Center, accounting department and interactive teller department.
Impacting education
Philadelphia-based American Heritage CU awarded $1,000 college scholarships to 25 young members. Recipients were chosen based on their scholarly merits, community and school involvement, a letter of recommendation, and a submitted essay describing from a financial standpoint what impact this scholarship would have on their education.
