CUs Feed the Hungry, Improve Schools & Donate to the Pink Fund

From left to right, Dracut High School seniors Christopher Digaetano, Kuzi Mvududu, Meghan Gedrich. Mackendra Looney, Ayiman Ata and Matthew Rossetti participate in Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s MoneyStrong for Life Fair. Approximately 60 volunteers, the majority of which were employees from the $1.3 billion, Lowell, Mass.-based Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, helped manage the booths and assist more than 200 students in their decision-making process. The fair gave students insight into the types of financial decisions they will be responsible for in adulthood. Students chose their desired profession and were assigned a realistic income along with credit card debt, a savings account balance and student loan debt. Aspiring police officers, veterinarians, writers, choreographers, medical assistants and engineers moved from booth to booth making spending choices on life essentials while managing a budget based on their monthly income.

Employees from the $275 million Public Service Credit Union in Romulus, Mich., present a $2,000 check to the Pink Fund. The credit union raised the money through credit union employee donations and breast cancer bracelets sales. Molly MacDonald, a breast cancer survivor, founded the Pink Fund, an organization that provides financial support to help meet basic needs, decrease stress levels and allow breast cancer patients in active treatment to focus on healing while improving survivorship outcomes.

The $4 billion Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, Iowa and United Auto Workers Local 838 host the 37th annual Mike and Leona Adams Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 19. Employees from the credit union and community volunteers served a traditional Thanksgiving feast at the UAW Local 838 Union Hall in Waterloo for 525 people. The Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging delivered an additional 375 dinners to local Meals on Wheels recipients. In total, the event served a free meal to 900 people this year. Former Veridian board member Mike Adams and his wife, Leona, built a partnership between the credit union and the local UAW to offer the first free Thanksgiving dinner in 1982. The couple saw many friends and neighbors in their community impacted by tough economic times and struggling to make ends meet. Though both Mike and Leona have both passed, the tradition that bears their names has grown. Each year, the event also offers free services, including haircuts from Clip Art Corner, blood pressure checks from Cedar Valley Hospice and round-trip transportation from Cedar Falls, Evansdale or Waterloo from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County.

Employees from the $2.5 billion Robins Financial Credit Union in Warner Robins, Ga., pose with Air Force Service Members from Robins Air Force Base. The credit union collected care packages to send off to troops who are currently serving overseas. Branches and back-office departments provided over 70 boxes to get to these troops just in time for the holidays. As a part of this annual collection, Robins Financial gave troops a variety of items from snacks and grooming items to magazines, batteries and other useful goods. These packages will be sent to troops deployed from Robins Air Force Base.

Employees from the $1.4 billion Credit Union of Texas in Dallas, Texas, present a check to members of the McKinney Police Department. The donated funds will be used to purchase police sashes for the McKinney Police Department. These sashes are used to easily identify officers during a crisis situation when an officer is wearing civilian clothing.

Pictured is the before and after view of the lunch room at Rock Chapel Elementary in Lithonia, Ga. CUNA awarded the $1 billion Georgia United Credit Union in Duluth, Ga., with a first place Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award, which commends a credit union for its outstanding efforts in community projects. Georgia United won with School Crashers, a program that allows schools to apply for a facility makeover each year. The credit union then unites the community, media partners, donors and volunteers to make those facility improvements a reality each summer. This year, about 450 volunteers helped Georgia United complete eight school makeovers. Rock Chapel Elementary School in Lithonia was this year’s grand prize winner and received multiple improvements to its facility. As a Title 1 school, Rock Chapel serves a large concentration of low-income students. Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, the trade organization for credit unions in the state, entered Georgia United into CUNA’s national competition after awarding a statewide Dora Maxwell award for credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets to the School Crashers program in August.

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