CUs Recognize & Support Members of Their Community

From left to right, Ideal Credit Union Board Member Bob Vance, Jr., Stillwater Branch Manager Sarah Jaeger, Jessica Hauser of Valley Outreach, Ideal President/CEO Brian Sherrick, and Ideal Board Members Danielle DuChemin and Jim Mosner hold a check for $500 given to Valley Outreach of Stillwater by the credit union. The $722 million Ideal in Woodbury, Minn., marked its 5th Annual Community Appreciation Celebration by giving away $6,600 in cash prizes, including a $1,000 daily grand prize for adults age 18 and over, $100 a day for youth age 17 and under and $3,000 in donations to local area food shelves. The celebration was held over the course of two weeks, starting Aug. 7 to 16. Attendees enjoyed over 2,100 hamburgers and had a chance to win fun prizes, visit with kid’s club mascot Bucky Bear and give back to local communities. Ideal’s Community Celebration, which started in 2014, has been a big hit with members and the community at large.

Director of Business and Community Development Sarah Borland from the $483 million BMI Federal Credit Union in Dublin, Ohio, presents a check to the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (W.A.R.M.) for their 4th Annual Hunger Heroes 5K and Fun Run to end hunger for at-risk children in Westerville. BMI FCU will be hosting a table at the event, with all proceeds donated to ShareBacAPac, a non-profit organization that is part of W.A.R.M., and the Otterbein University Promise House. This event has raised nearly $10,000 to end hunger in Westerville, where roughly 36% of school-aged children receive free or subsidized lunches. This is the second consecutive year BMI FCU has donated to W.A.R.M., as last year ShareBackAPac was responsible for distributing more than 7,000 food bags to children.

Members and staff from the $2.9 billion Municipal Credit Union in New York City roll up their sleeves on Saturday, Aug. 25 at Graniteville Quarry Park in Staten Island to volunteer and celebrate their neighborhood park and public spaces as part of NYC Parks’ It’s My Park program. MCU volunteers helped with path clearing, weeding and gardening areas of the park. Participation in the park cleanup is part of the credit union’s corporate social mission to partner with New York City agencies and give back to the communities it serves. This is the first time MCU has volunteered with the It’s My Park program. The credit union has scheduled additional volunteer clean-up dates on Saturday, Sept. 8 at Jackie Robinson Park and Playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and on Saturday, Sept. 15 at Elmhurst Park in Elmhurst, Queens. NYC Parks’ It’s My Park program was established to create opportunities for local communities to come together and celebrate their neighborhood parks and public spaces through volunteerism.

Volunteers from the $23.6 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Tysons Corner, Va., and San Diego Padres employees assemble care packages for troops overseas on Petco Park field following the Padres vs. Mariners afternoon game on Aug. 29. Volunteers joined PenFed on the Petco Park playing field following the afternoon game to fill 750 packages with toiletries, a PenFed shaker bottle and protein powder. The assembled care packages will be distributed among three forward deployed USO locations.

Children from Family Promise, Rochester, Minn., play outside (top); staff at Anna Marie’s Alliance prepare for a fiesta for the shelter’s residents (bottom left); and  participants in the Jugaad Leadership Program meet with local law enforcement representatives (bottom right). The Affinity Plus Foundation, the charitable arm of the $2 billion Affinity Plus Credit Union, recently announced the recipients of its 2018 Community Grants. A total of 10 grants, ranging in size from $4,000 to $10,000, will support programming in multiple communities around Minnesota. Funding supports organizations and activities that have a positive impact on Minnesota communities. The Affinity Plus Foundation is a 501(c)(3) serving Minnesota communities. Established in 2000 by Affinity Plus, the foundation administers its own scholarship program, awards grants to non-profit groups and schools, and supports financial education initiatives through partnerships, presentations and resources.

The $3 billion California Credit Union in Glendale, Calif., and Los Angeles Unified School District celebrate “Rookie Teacher of the Year” Award winners on court during a Los Angeles Sparks basketball game at the Staples Center on Aug. 5. California CU, which has served the education community with premier financial services for more than eight decades, created the Rookie of the Year program in 2015 to recognize first-year teachers within the greater Los Angeles community. The 2018 Rookie of the Year teachers were selected based on key characteristics, including effectiveness in preparing and delivering instruction, providing a positive classroom climate with strong routines and procedures, adopting a dynamic and engaging teaching style, and showing high levels of professionalism. On Aug. 5, California CU hosted this year’s 18 winners during a private ceremony at the Staples Center Rooftop Terrace attended by LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, local district representatives, school principals and guests. Teachers are nominated by school administrators, and winners are selected by LAUSD committee members and a credit union representative. Since the program began in 2015, California CU has recognized 77 LAUSD teachers as a Rookie of the Year.

Please send your Community news items to Tahira Hayes at thayes@cutimes.com.