DONATIONS

Veridian Credit Union, Waterloo, Iowa, has announced the recipients of its Health, Welfare, and Safety grant. The grant targets programs that promote awareness and educate on wellness-related issues. $15,000 was available from this grant. The recipients are: Allen Hospital of Waterloo; The Family YMCA of Black Hawk County; People’s Community Health Clinic; Young Parent’s Network in Cedar Rapids; Children & Families of Iowa in Des Moines; and Hispanic Educational Resources in Des Moines. Horizons Federal Credit Union, Binghamton, N.Y., was a sponsor of the Southern Tier AIDS Program’s annual AIDS Walk this year. Along with other walk participants and sponsors from the community, the CU helped raise over $41,000 for STAP. A group of seven employees from the credit union also participated in the event, braving rainy weather to walk the 5K course through the heart of Binghamton. The walk raised awareness and funds for STAP’s HIV/AIDS services. This was the first year Horizons sponsored and participated in the event. Earthmover Credit Union, Oswego, Ill., awarded the Teen Investment Program $4,000 college scholarship to Yanet Favela. The scholarship was awarded to Favela based on her outstanding academic performance and her essay explaining what today’s financial industry can do to help educate young adults on how to improve their money management skills. In the fall of 2006, Favela plans on attending North Central College in Naperville and majoring in International Business. Redstone Federal Credit Union, Huntsville, Ala., presented $1,000 to Therapy Partners, Inc. to aid in the local organization’s goal to help those receiving medical or academic assistance. Therapy Partners sends its trained therapy teams composed of a human and a dog or cat to healthcare and educational organizations. The team works with children, teens, adults and seniors who are receiving medical care or are residents of care/rehabilitation facilities as well as children in Title 1 schools who are at risk of academic failure because of poor reading skills. Synergy One Federal Credit Union, Manassas, Va., collected food in its four credit union branch locations during the month of March to help stock SERVE, Inc.’s food pantry. SERVE, Inc.’s food pantry feeds 1,700 people a month. Synergy One holds a food drive every year for SERVE, Inc. This year, the food drive was held in March in order for SERVE to participate in the Feinstein Foundation Grant Challenge. For every $1 worth of food collected, the Feinstein Foundation will match. SERVE, Inc.’s Food Pantry program could receive up to $50,000 through the Challenge. The North Dakota Credit Union League, Bismarck, N.D., has awarded educational scholarships on behalf of all North Dakota credit unions for the fifth consecutive year. The scholarships were awarded to applicants that exemplify the credit union philosophy of “people helping people” through volunteerism, community service and leadership. This year, the NDCUL awarded eight $500 scholarships. First Source Federal Credit Union, New Hartford, N.Y., has donated $5,000 to Mohawk Valley Contractor’s Guild – a self-sufficient program within For The Good, Inc. The Guild is described as an incubator for the development of small contracting companies in the inner city of Utica. It aids existing minority firms as well as low income individuals who are motivated to start up contracting companies. K of C Federal Credit Union, Springfield, Pa., recently held its 2nd Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony at the Knights of Columbus de la Salle Council Hall, where it recently opened a new branch office on the premises. The credit union awarded three $1,000 college scholarships and two $500 high school scholarships for a total of $4,000. The CU increased the total dollar amount awarded by $2,000 over the last year. Nine high school students and six college students applied this year. The students were required to write a 2-page essay and have a grade point average of at least 2.5. The winners were: Meghan Fierko and Megan Rossi (high school) and John-Paul LeChevallier, Kristen Hardner, and Mark Stratton Jr. (college). First Northern Credit Union, Rockford, Ill., recently donated $1,000 to The R.O.C.K. (Rockhouse Outreach Children’s Klub). The R.O.C.K.’s mission is to help feed children that are overlooked by other programs that are offered to adults. The R.O.C.K. maintains a kid’s pantry that contains healthy, nutritious food that kids can eat on their own with no preparation or refrigeration. The donation was gathered by employees who paid $1 every week for the option to wear jeans on casual Fridays. Members 1st Federal Credit Union, Mechanicsburg, Pa., recently announced the winners of its Members 1st FCU/Robert P. Regan scholarship. Each year the CU selects four exemplary students for a $1,000 renewing undergraduate scholarship. Applicants must be current high school seniors or undergraduate students and are judged on a written essay, high school or college transcripts and school and community involvement. This year’s recipients are: Shannon Forney, Rebecca Swanger, Michelle Dusel and Biannely Diaz. Winners must maintain a full-time undergraduate status and a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 throughout their four years of school to be eligible for annual scholarship renewal. M/A-COM Federal Credit Union, Lowell, Mass., together with the Massachusetts Credit Union League and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, collected books from members and staff to help local underprivileged children. Donation boxes were placed in each of the CU’s three branches for staff and members to donate new and used children’s books. The collected books were donated to the Community Teamwork Inc. Head Start office in Lowell. Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, Miramar, Fla., recently held its 2nd Annual Swing for the Kids golf tournament at Parkland Golf and Country Club in Parkland, Fla. The tournament raises money for children’s charities and this year over $58,000 was raised on behalf of His House in Opa-Locka, which provides a safe, temporary home for children who have been abused, neglected or exposed to drugs or whose parents are in crisis, and The Have in Boca Raton, which is an alternative home for young men. This year students from Blanche Ely in Pompano Beach created the “Iron Tiger,” a putting robot used to challenge golfers during the tournament. Those golfers that beat the robot won a prize. MSU Federal Credit Union, East Lansing, Mich., had 25 of its employees volunteer their time on April 29 to help with the 6th Annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure. Many employees and members also participated in running or walking in the race itself. The April 29 event had more than 4,100 participants raising $220,000 to fight breast cancer. Salt Lake City Credit Union, Salt Lake City, has made an $11,545 donation to the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House serves as a home away from home for families who have traveled to Salt Lake City to receive medical treatment for a child. Monies for the donation were generated through the CU’s Skip-A-Payment promotion. Under the program, CU members were allowed to skip their December 2005 or January 2006 loan payment by donating at least $25 to the Ronald McDonald House. Jersey Shore Federal Credit Union, Northfield, N.J., has donated $500 to the Police Unity Tour, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the memories of fallen law enforcement officers. The CU’s donation will help the Southern New Jersey Chapter of the Police Unity Tour embark on a bicycle ride from the Linwood Police Department to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. The funds were raised through a “dress-down” fundraiser. For six days, CU employees had the option of wearing casual clothes to work in exchange for a $5 donation. Not only did the CU donate $500, but they also gave six cases of water and two boxes of energy bars for the Police Unity Tour. Community Resource Federal Credit Union, Latham, N.Y., has awarded its TeenSmarts College Scholarship to Allison Tomaszewski. Tomaszewski plans to study Psychology at the State University of New York at Cortland. The TeenSmarts College Scholarship is a $500 one-time award given to the TeenSmarts member and high school senior with the greatest financial need. The goal of TeenSmarts, a financial program for young adults ages 13 to 18, is to help provide teens with financial knowledge so they are capable of handling their own finances when they leave home for college and/or a career. Community Credit Union, Livonia, Mich., has awarded six educational scholarships through its CU at School Scholarship Program. The program is designed to support the growth of its members and the pursuit of their dreams by providing college, university and trade school financial assistance. Six non-renewable scholarships were awarded – four $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors and two $1,000 scholarships to actively enrolled continuing education students. Member recipients were selected based on their grade point average, a written essay, three letters of recommendation and an interview with the CU’s scholarship committee. Founders Federal Credit Union, Lancaster, S.C., recently donated Child Identification Kits to all children grades K-12 in Lancaster County. Each kit contains inkless fingerprinting materials, a self-laminating identification card, an information card to collect personal details and distinguishing characteristics and swabs for DNA collection from the child’s cheek. Families are encouraged to keep the completed kits with current photo albums for reference and security. The initiative began when Founders FCU started raising funds in 2004, to provide identification kits to school-age children in their service area. During the South Carolina CU League’s 2005 Annual Meeting, Founders President/CEO Bruce Brumfield offered his credit union’s funds to be pooled with money raised by the rest of S.C.’s credit unions to provide an I.D. Kit to every school-age child in the state.