ORLANDO-It seems simple. If a credit union wants members to qualify for loans, they need to be able to pay the funds back. But members can't qualify if they're unemployed.
One Las Vegas credit union has found a way to address that, having now put more than 2,000 people into jobs during the past two years.
Mona Joseph, VP of business development at Las Vegas-based WestStar CU, told Credit Union Journal's Grow Show that its job fairs have become a win-win for the members, the community, the credit union and WestStar's sponsor companies. (WestStar's job fairs have previously been named a Credit Union Journal "Best Practice" winner.)
WestStar began hosting job fair in early 2011, seeking to do something positive in Nevada at a time when unemployment had reached 13%. The first fair, which was hosted at a local community college that donated the space, drew more than 1,000 attendees, while subsequent events in Reno and Vegas drew 2,000 and 7,000 people, respectively.
The fairs have created several bonuses for WestStar, beyond assisting people in finding employment. The crowds drew big media attention, with a later job fair attracting local BOB FM, which did an on-site broadcast and promoted the event every 15 minutes. The credit union has held six job fairs since beginning the fairs in 2011 and helped more than 2,000 people find work.
'Imagine What Else We Can Do'
"These are partnerships that you can create with your community that won't cost you very much," said Joseph. "In our case, I didn't have the budget to actually be able to buy ballroom space and turn around and charge our SEGs. We've developed even greater relationships with our SEGs, because this is one of our benefits-every year you get a free booth at our job fair. And for those people that find a job, WestStar makes all the difference to them. They'll remember WestStar because we did something that no other financial institution did. And if we can do that for them, imagine what else we can do to ensure their future success."
