LOS ANGELES-At the most recent Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, President George W. Bush applauded the program's progress being made to help Americans in need. NCUA Director of Credit Union Development Anthony LaCreta represented NCUA at the Government Resources Exhibition during the March 3 conference. NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar instituted a Faith-Based Credit Union Initiative, which stemmed from the White House program. President Bush emphasized that the Faith-Based and Community Initiative does not fund religion but allows for operations like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, job training programs and other efforts to help change the lives of Americans in need. For NCUA's part, the agency's program aims to charter new faith-based credit unions or expand their service to provide affordable financial services to those who need it. The president initiated this series of nationwide conferences to spread the word about the faith-based opportunities available.