CFE FCU Gives $100,000 Boost to School Media Centers

ORLANDO, Fla. – CFE Federal Credit Union has helped ensure 10 Orange County Public School Media Centers remain stocked. The credit union has donated a total of $100,000 to the schools to purchase books and reading-related technology for their media centers. The schools receiving checks were: Apopka Elementary, Lake Silver Elementary, Lovell Elementary, Palmetto Elementary, Shingle Creek Elementary, Waterbridge Elementary, Wheatley Elementary, Howard Middle, Stonewall Jackson Middle and Oak Ridge High School. “Many of the students at our school come from challenging environments. This gift will increase the school’s capacity to provide resources that will help more students overcome the adversity they have experienced in their lives,” said Mary Aitchison, media specialist at Oak Ridge High. The idea of a school contribution developed from the CFE FCU board of directors recognizing some three years ago that many Central Florida school children have limited access to books and other resources outside of school. To boost reading skills, school media centers needed to purchase more materials. “The board’s commitment enables schools to significantly improve the quality of learning resources available to teachers,” said CFE FCU President/CEO Joseph A. Melbourne, Jr. CFE FCU selects recipient schools with the greatest need for improved reading skills based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) reading scores. Since 2002, CFE has donated $300,000 to 30 OCPS schools. An additional $200,000 will be donated to 20 schools over the next two years, bringing the credit union’s total five-year contribution to $500,000.