Donations

DONATIONS Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union, Clinton Township, Mich., recently honored its scholarship recipients at a formal awards ceremony. During the luncheon, six high school graduates were presented with their scholarship certificates, Achievement by Rudolph Heino, of the CU’s board. A check for $2,000 will be mailed to the college of their choice where the funds will be distributed for tuition and books. Mutual Savings Credit Union, Birmingham, Ala., awarded 18 Alabama students with scholarships totaling $20,000 at the 2006 Annual Meeting in Birmingham. These scholarships were granted due to each student’s outstanding academic achievement and leadership roles in their communities. SEFCU, Albany, N.Y., awarded $9,500 in college scholarships to high seniors in conjunction with the annual NYS Credit Union League Scholarship program for credit union members. More than 14,000 students statewide, including more than 125 SEFCU members, competed for the honors. Among the NYSCUL scholarship winners were four SEFCU members. The CU also awarded “SEFCU Smart Sense” Scholarships, in $1,000 and $500 denominations, to top-place student members in the competition. U.S. Postal Service Federal Credit Union, Clinton, Md., recently announced the winners of its 13th annual Fredrick J. Heinen Scholarship Contest. Applicants were judged on content, grammar and spelling of written essays. The recipients of this year’s awards were: to high school students, Juliann Willis, $1,000; Brittany Burns and Shelby White, $750; and Troy Lovelace, $500; to college students, Kenneth Jee, $1,000; Kristin Gaither, $750; Brett Carter and Michael Tulo, $500. All other entries received an honorable mention award of $50 to the college of their choice. East Hartford High School seniors Alex Collins, Berri Cordwell and Mike Riley, who are employed at American Eagle Federal Credit Union, East Hartford, Conn., were awarded $1,000 college scholarships from the high school’s Academy of Finance program during an awards reception at Manchester Community College. Collins and Cordwell were awarded $1,000 scholarships from American Eagle FCU while Riley received a $1,000 scholarship from the Society of Financial Services. United Teletech Financial Federal Credit Union, Tinton Falls, N.J., along with the New Jersey Credit Union League proudly announced the winners of the 2006 statewide credit union scholarship program. Diana Chen was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the NJCUL and $500 scholarships from United Teletech Financial were awarded to Timothy Bogart, Talene Boodaghians and Joshua Brown. Redwood Credit Union, Santa Rosa, Calif., recently participated in three “Human Race” fundraising events held simultaneously in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties and raised over $14,271. Over 60 volunteers from the CU, including employees, family and friends, walked or ran in place to raise the funds for a variety of local nonprofit organizations. Reddy the Redwood, the CU’s mascot, accompanied the RCU walking team at the Sonoma race and the CU had booths set up at the Marin and Sonoma races providing fresh orange slices and fun giveaways for participants. The three races drew in over 14,300 participants. Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union, Fort Belvoir, Va., has announced the winners of its 2006 scholarship competition. Julie Greear was the recipient of its continuing student scholarship and Gregory Osborn was the recipient of its graduating high school scholarship. FTBFCU also provided scholarships to its high school partners, Woodbridge High and Gar-Field High. Those winners were Robert Mann and Nicole Dubois. Leominster Credit Union, Leominster, Mass., recently pledged $50,000 to support the expansion and renovation of the Leominster Public Library. A check for the first installment of $10,000 was presented to Chairperson of the board of the Leominster Public Library, Gilbert Tremblay. The funds are earmarked to help furnish the Children’s Story Time Room at the library. MidWest Financial Credit Union, Ann Arbor, Mich., and UMHS Financial recently participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, raising nearly $5,000 for the American Cancer Society. The CU’s Relay Team was comprised of 21 employees, family members and CU business partners. The Team collected donations and at least one Team member was walking the track at any given point during the 24-hour fundraising event–even during the overnight rainstorm with temperatures hovering in the low 40s. The Credit Union Association of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M., recently raffled off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle at its annual convention. The winners were First Financial Credit Union members Johnny and Monica Greene of Gallup, N.M. Johnny Greene picked up the new Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Fat Boy during the grand opening of the CU’s new Gallup branch. The motorcycle raffle raised $60,800 for the New Mexico Credit Union Political Action Committee. Stormy weather prevented golfers at the New Hampshire Credit Union League’s annual convention from being able to enjoy the traditional Saturday tournament at the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel. At the League’s Annual Meeting on Saturday morning, which ordinarily precedes the tournament, League President Dan Egan announced that weather conditions would force the cancellation of the tournament. He went on to add that the League’s board recommended that all of the proceeds from tournament registrations and sponsorships be split between two charities: The Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire and the Travis Roy Foundation. Not a single golfer or sponsor asked for a refund and a total of $4,400 was split between these two outstanding charities. AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union, Mechanicsburg, Pa., held its 2nd Annual Charity Golf Classic at the Carlisle Country Club recently. As this year’s charity recipient, Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania was presented $4,000 by Kipp Stecher, president/CEO of AmeriChoice. The CU also donated $1,000 to the Pennsylvania Credit Union Defense Fund. Tobyhanna Army Depot Federal Credit Union, Scranton, Pa., held its 3rd Annual Golf Tournament at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club recently. A total of $5,000 was raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Seventy golfers participated and many prizes were handed out to all participants. This year’s tournament was stated to be the best in its three years of running. The CU will continue holding such events on an annual basis. Altura Credit Union, Riverside, Calif., recently awarded cash prizes totaling $910 to 32 students from kindergarten through eighth grades in Riverside County during its 16th Annual Art Conest. Winners were chosen from more than 300 entries. All the winners received certificates, ribbons and cash awards ranging from $5 to $100. The winners represented 15 different public and private elementary and middle schools. For the first time, one of the winners this year was a home-schooled student. This year’s contest theme was, “How I will change the world.” Achieva Credit Union, Largo, Fla., presented a $17,500 donation at the annual All Children’s Hospital Telethon. This year’s All Children’s Hospital Telethon raised a grand total of $4,272,625. Achieva’s 200 employees raised funds for All Children’s Hospital throughout the year through events such as a popular holiday basket raffle, an Easter basket raffle, employee games and drawings, employees who donate via payroll deduction, a Mardi Gras poker night for staff and more. Also, a team of Achieva staff went to the telethon and answered phones to help the cause.