DONATIONS

Pen Air Federal Credit Union, Pensacola, Fla., has hosted its first annual charity golf tournament at the A.C. Read Golf Club to benefit the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. Viewed as a huge success, the course was packed with the maximum allowed number of golfers. Prizes included $300 cash for closest to pin, golf bags, golf equipment, and a hole-in-one new vehicle. The tournament raised $10,000 for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. Credit Union ONE, Ferndale, Mich., has joined forces with representatives from the University of Detroit Mercy to clean up and beautify the playgrounds of the Poverty and Social Reform Institute. As part of the PSRI “Clean Up, Spruce Up” mission volunteers were busy planting flowers, trimming trees and painting playground equipment. The Poverty and Social Reform Institute is a private, non-profit organization that collaborates with community networks to provide comprehensive solutions to the problems of children and their families living in poverty. The Institute accomplishes its goals through creative programs such as the “Leaps and Bounds” Child Parent Center, which provides day and evening child care for children up to age 12. Some of the center’s offerings include school readiness programs for students, pre- school curriculum and support for parents struggling with economic problems. White Sands Federal Credit Union, Las Cruces, N.M., has established an endowment for the support of the First Step Center programs. The First Step Center programs began in 1989 as a response to an ongoing crisis in New Mexico regarding access to prenatal and pediatric care. At that time, 48% of the women who presented to the Emergency Department had no prenatal care. Since the inception of the First Step Center, the programs have continued to fulfill their mission to provide access to essential healthcare for women and children in our community, regardless of their ability to pay for them. One hundred percent of the funds raised will be distributed to First Step Centers. WSFCU has $121 million in assets and serves 30,419 members. EDS Employees Federal Credit Union, Plano, Texas, has served as a drop-off point for up to 400 new and unused items for the Collin County Rainbow room. The organization collects items for abused and neglected children. Boys and girls clothes, books, dolls and sport equipment were just some of the items donated. The Collin County Rainbow Room opened in November 1997. This volunteer-run facility serves as a store-like setting for abused and neglected children of Collin County. Each year Collin County receives over 1,000 reports of child abuse and neglect. The Rainbow Room benefits many of these children with new items for home or school. Massachusetts Credit Union League, Southborough, has presented the Massachusetts coalition for the Homeless with a $35,000 donation for 2000. In addition, the League’s Social Responsibility Committee has established a goal to raise $50,000 in 2001. The League’s Social Responsibility Committee manages this effort in conjunction with the Credit Union Affordable Housing/Homeless Trust, which was established in April 1989. It was created exclusively for charitable purposes in order to benefit the homeless of Massachusetts and to create affordable housing for Massachusetts citizens. Through the credit unions’ partnership with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, over $250,000 has been collected and donated to help homeless families and individuals in Massachusetts. Credit union members have come to understand that homelessness is a problem that disproportionately affects families and children. In fact, 75% of the state’s homeless population is made up of children. It is a problem that continues to grow due to a lack of affordable housing. The Credit Union Affordable Housing/Homeless Trust raises funds all year long through a variety of approaches, including an annual golf tournament, solicitations, and donation canisters in credit union lobbies.