Altura Credit Union, Riverside, Calif., recently had employees and members join with other volunteers in the Riverside community to paint a school for mentally and physically challenged students. Sunshine School had not been painted in nearly 30 years. The were a total of 50 volunteers who devoted nearly six hours on Saturday sprucing up the school. Gerber Federal Credit Union, Fremont, Mich., donated $250 to Knights of Columbus Mentally Impaired Drive. Area citizens who are mentally impaired are the sole recipients of the contributions collected during the drive. Tobyhanna Army Depot Federal Credit Union, Scranton, Pa., recently presented scholarships to three high school seniors at its 52nd Annual Meeting. Contestants were selected on multiple criteria including academic achievement and 1,000 word essays on financial management. Each year the credit union's Youth Committee offers three scholarships to high school seniors totaling $3,250. US Federal Credit Union, Burnsville, Minn., collected over 11,000 dollars/pounds of food during the month of March to donate to the Minnesota FoodShare campaign. The USFCU FoodShare committee-a collaboration of the Marketing, Human Resource and Facilities departments-hosted a variety of events to raise money and collect food, such as Casual For A Cause Fridays, a silent auction of gift baskets, water bottle sales, a NCAA bracket pool (with entry fees donated to the campaign) and a food scavenger hunt where specific nonperishable food items were given point values based on difficulty of finding at a grocery store. The initiatives combined raised $8,684 and 2,316 pounds of food. APGFCU employees, Aberdeen, Md., participated in Rebuilding Together's National Rebuilding Day. The group helped with painting, caulking, landscaping and other various repairs of a local family's home. The APGFCU Community Involvement Committee donated $2,500 to Rebuilding Together Harford County to sponsor the house. Rebuilding Together is a charitable organization committed to preserving homes and communities to assure that homeowners live in warmth, safety and independence. Hopewell Federal Credit Union, Fiberglas Federal Credit Union, Marion Community Credit Union, CES Credit Union and Aimbridge joined forces to host the first annual Aimbridge/Mid Ohio credit union golf outing. The golf outing was a showcase for the credit unions and Aimbridge in an effort to thank participating Aimbridge indirect lending auto dealers. Valued credit union vendors, employees and volunteers were also participants in the golf outing. Golfers were treated to 18 holes of golf, continental breakfast, complimentary beverages, a buffet lunch, goodie bags, a prize raffle and special golf contests. Additionally, a special "double or nothing" contest raised money for the Children's Miracle Network. Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, Lowell, Mass., announced the names of three local middle school students who received honorable mention awards in an essay contest for 7th and 8th grade students, sponsored by the Massachusetts Credit Union League and the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation. Over 1,600 essays were submitted from across Massachusetts. There was one grand prize, eight finalists and 22 honorable mentions. Each honorable mention was awarded a $425 gift check from JDCU's Community Education Program. Kauai Community Federal Credit Union, Lihue, Hawaii, recently announced the recipients of its 2006 KCFCU Scholarship in a small informal ceremony. Kira Furugen, Anthony Tran, Sharla Shimono, Diandra K. Malama and Tina Marie G. Moger each received $1,000 scholarships to help them achieve their higher education goals. All applicants were judged on academic merit, community service, credit union relationship and financial need. This is the second year that the CU offered scholarships to graduating high school seniors as part of their Your Choice Youth Program. Volunteers from Progessions Credit Union, Spokane, Wash., teamed up with United States Postal Service workers, Second Harvest Food Bank of Inland Northwest and Wendle Motors to bring in a successful haul for the 14th annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive. The drive yielded success with high participation and loads of food which continued to fill the semi-trucks at each USPS location throughout the day. Special shopping bags that the CU provided were distributed to residents in the Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls area along each postal route prior to the food drive to make donating food items easier for everyone. The bags with food items were collected and carried back to the USPS locations by dedicated letter carriers and volunteers, as the residents' mail was delivered. Capital Communications Federal Credit Union, Albany, N.Y., recently raised $37,000 to help bolster its commitment to Capital Region organizations and charities through its Annual BIG Benefit Raffle. The CU's charitable foundation, The Capital Communications Cares Foundation, who coordinated the event, sold 2,000 tickets for one $10,000 grand prize and three $1,000 prizes. Gary Conklin was the BIG Raffle's $10,000 grand prize winner; and Mary Candelario, Rob Carey and Lisa Toomey were the $1,000 winners. Horizons Federal Credit Union, Binghamton, N.Y., recently organized a barbecue that netted approximately $650 for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. Though the CU has been raising funds for Relay For Life since 2002, this was the first year the credit union has held a barbecue fundraiser for the event. Horizons employees barbecued the chicken and put together the take-out meals. One employee donned a chicken suite and held a sign to attract those driving by to stop and buy chicken dinners, which sold for $6.00 each. Local vendors also pitched in by either donating or giving generous discounts on food and other items. So far this year, the CU has raised $4,300 for Relay For Life. Four members of the Tobyhanna Army Depot Federal Credit Union, Scranton, Pa., were recently awarded with Las Vegas and New York City trip packages as part of the prize drawing held at the CU's 52nd Annual Meeting. This is one way the CU thanks its members for using its services and for recognizing it as their financial institution. Point Loma Credit Union, San Diego, recently made a donation on behalf of its entire membership to the Optimist Club and the Children's Rainforest Project. The donated funds of $4,028.59 were obtained by members purchasing special Rainforest Project cut-outs in all the PLCU branches. Together with the Artists of Farallon Design, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Optimist Club of San Diego has dedicated its resources to renovating the Kaiser Permanente Hospital's pediatric ward. Accomplished artists and craftsman will use a broad range of mediums to bring the rainforest to life within the pediatric ward. Oregon Community Credit Union, Eugene, Ore., helped kick off a three-day radiothon to raise funds for the Children's Miracle Network by staffing phones and taking pledges. The CU collaborated with KOOL 99.1 FM radio to host the event that resulted in more than $50,000 for the nonprofit organization that focuses on supporting children's hospitals across North America. In addition to providing staff volunteers Oregon Community Credit Union donated $2,500 to CMN. Cabrillo Credit Union, San Diego, and its partners, Carlsbad City Credit Union and Sharp Credit Union raised over $11,000 in recent fundraising activities to benefit San Diego's Children's Hospital. The credit union branches sold paper balloons to members and vendors during the first two weeks of May in association with the Credit Unions for Kids program and also competed in a branch decorating contest to support the cause. In addition, the credit union held a very successful company-wide silent auction that brought in over $3,000. Staff members put together various baskets and homemade treats to donate to the auction. The CU raised a record-breaking $11,007 in just two weeks. CFE Federal Credit Union, Orlando, Fla., recently participated in the 12th Annual Insurance Offices of America's Corporate 5K. Nearly 50 enthusiastic CFE runners and walkers, wearing custom-designed t-shirts, joined together for the 5K. The Corporate 5K, which attracted 6,000 runners and walkers and consisted of 270 teams, raised $11,000 and benefited Florida On the Move, a local grassroots, anti-obesity program.