Credit Unions Bring Warmth to Communities

Employees from the $3.2 billion Ascend Federal Credit Union wear red on Feb. 5, National Wear Red Day, in front of the Ascend corporate office in Tullahoma, Tenn. Ascend and its employees recently raised $1,150 to support the American Heart Association's efforts to increase women's heart health awareness. Ascend employees raised $575 by donating at least $5 to the Go Red For Women program to wear blue jeans and a red shirt on National Wear Red Day, and Ascend matched each employee contribution, dollar-for-dollar. Additionally, Ascend is bathing its corporate headquarters in red lights during February to show ongoing support for the fight against heart disease. Over the past five years, Ascend has contributed $18,460 to support heart health through donations to the AHA.

TruMark Financial Credit Union Branch Manager Mary Ellen Kull and Assistant Branch Manager Donna Clarke (pictured from left to right in black masks) deliver a supply of warm blankets to Interfaith Hospitality Network of Main Line (IHN-ML) in Norristown, Pa., as part of the credit union's Concern for Community initiative. The $2.59 billion, Fort Washington, Pa.-based TruMark Financial will also be donating $2,500 per month to Philabundance, for a total of $30,000 in 2021, to help combat food insecurity. In addition, the credit union will select a different organization each month to receive resources needed for their clients. Resources range from items like socks, hats, mittens and backpacks to cleaning supplies for people transitioning into their own homes. In January, to kick off the program, the credit union donated a total of 100 blankets to shelters in the five-county area. The following shelters each received a supply of blankets, in addition to IHN-ML:

Good Samaritan Services in Phoenixville, Pa.
Betheseda Project in Philadelphia
Pathways PA in Media, Pa.
Family Service Association of Bucks County in Pennsylvania

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Financial One Credit Union member Keegan H. (second from right) and his grandfather (far right), who opened a WINcentive Savings Account to help his eight-year-old grandson save for his future, celebrate Keegan's Grand Prize win along with Financial One President/CEO Ross Bloomquist (far left) and Minnesota Credit Union Network Director of Engagement Ben Hering. In January, the WINcentive Savings program announced the final prizes awarded through the Minnesota statewide prize pool for 2020, including two grand prizes of $5,000 each, five $1,000 quarterly prizes and 50 $100 prizes. Members from the $169.3 million, Columbia Heights, Minn.-based Financial One and the $236.7 million, Stewartville, Minn.-based First Alliance Credit Union were the lucky recipients of the annual grand prize drawings. Participating members of all 23 Minnesota-based credit unions offering WINcentive were eligible for the monthly, quarterly and annual statewide prizes for 2020. WINcentive Savings incentivizes consumers to save by offering risk-free rewards. Account holders in Minnesota qualify for up to four chances to win a prize per month for each $25 increase in their month-over-month savings balance.

Volunteers from the $2.18 billion, East Hartford, Conn.-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union and Journey Home fill a truck with over 40 pieces of gently used furniture and office furnishings from the credit union's former East Hartford branch location. The donation from AEFCU will be used to furnish Journey Home's administrative offices and continue the Hartford-based non-profit's mission of supporting local people transitioning out of homelessness. In 2020, Journey Home's "A Hand Up" program helped approximately 300 Harford-area individuals and families make a home for themselves, allowing them to focus their limited resources on other necessities.

Aisha Jasper, community development manager for the $5.16 billion, Endwell, N.Y.-based Visions Federal Credit Union, loads hot meals into a vehicle for senior living facility staff. Visions recently partnered with chefs from the Syracuse, N.Y.-based American Food and Vending for its Kindness Café, which the credit union created when the pandemic first hit to show appreciation for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals as part of its Act of Kindness initiative. Last spring, Visions raised over $1,200 and delivered 248 meals to the UHS Hospital system in New York as part of the initiative. The Visions team recently brought back the Kindness Café concept to deliver 300 hot, freshly-made meals to staff of the UHS Senior Living Center at Ideal, an assisted living facility in Endicott, N.Y., on Feb. 3 and 4.

Representatives from the $1.8 billion, Daleville, Ala.-based All In Credit Union and the Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center, a non-profit serving victims of child abuse in four Alabama counties, show off a big check at the advocacy center in Troy, Ala. For the third consecutive year, All In's Helping Hands Foundation is providing more than $100,000 in grants to organizations making a positive impact in their communities, with a total of $142,698 slated for grant recipients. Aside from the Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center, the organizations chosen to receive one of the grant awards were:

Crestview Shelter for the Homeless in Crestview, Fla.
Crossover Ministry in Opp, Ala.
Dale County EMS & Rescue Squad in Dale County, Ala.
Fostering Together Gulf Coast in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, Ala.
Healing Hoof Steps in Crestview, Fla.
The American Legion in Enterprise, Ala.
United Way of Southwest Alabama in Mobile, Ala.

Application requests for the 2021 All In grants will be announced in August as part of the credit union's continued commitment to give back to the community through its Helping Hands Foundation, which was established in 2016.

Please send your Community news items to Natasha Chilingerian at [email protected].

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Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.