CU Donations Support Education & Animal Rescue Organizations
Plus, CUs contribute to groups that assist domestic violence survivors and low-income homeowners in need of repairs.
A baby bobcat receives care at the Tucson Wildlife Center in Tucson, Ariz. The $1.65 billion, Tucson-based Hughes Federal Credit Union recently raised $3,725 for the Tucson Wildlife Foundation through $5 donations for each new Diana Madaras “Bobcat at the Pool” debit card issued to members in 2020. The debit card, featuring art by local artist Madaras, is free to Hughes members with a Checking PLUS or checking account and offers a 10% discount on merchandise with Diana Madaras images at the Madaras Gallery. The Tucson Wildlife Center’s largely volunteer team rescues sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife, providing veterinary and rehabilitation care that allows them to release healthy animals back into the wilderness while also offering educational programs on habitat protection. Since 2019, more than $7,875 has been donated to the center through the Madaras card.
Marianne Lynch (left) welcomes a delivery of cleaning supplies from TruMark Financial Credit Union Doylestown Branch Manager Jillian Williams for use at A Woman’s Place, a Doylestown, Pa., organization providing programs and services to people experiencing domestic violence. The $2.6 billion, Fort Washington, Pa.-based TruMark Financial donated baskets of cleaning supplies including soaps, trash bags, paper goods and disinfectants to five local organizations that offer support services for individuals transitioning from difficult periods in their lives. The other four were Domestic Abuse of Delaware County in Media, Pa., Home of the Sparrow in Exton, Pa., Inter-Faith Housing Alliance in Ambler, Pa., and St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia.
The $1.6 billion, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.-based Hanscom Federal Credit Union recently concluded its #BuildHope campaign with a $1,000 donation to Great Divide Animal Rescue. Runner-up organizations Kiva, Mental Health America and Girls Who Code each received a $500 donation. Hanscom employees were each offered $10 to donate to a charity of their choice, as well as the opportunity to turn their $10 donation into $1,000 by creating a short video showing why they chose their cause, with four chosen as finalists. The finalist videos were shared on social media and the public voted for their favorites. Jared Robinson, Hanscom’s information security analyst (pictured with his dogs), created the winning video that earned Great Divide Animal Rescue the $1,000 donation prize.
The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of members of the $47.3 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based State Employees’ Credit Union, partnered with the North Carolina Alliance for School Leadership Development (NCASLD) and the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals’ Association (NCPAPA) to help increase leadership capacity among practicing school principals through a new initiative called the Distinguished Practitioners Network (DPN). Using a virtual platform, DPN will provide leadership development sessions to principals in high-needs schools addressing concerns highlighted by COVID-19. An $80,000 grant from the SECU Foundation will help fund costs to train and compensate program facilitators to bring the DPN platform to education leaders in approximately 180 North Carolina schools over the next two years. Pictured from left to right are SECU Foundation Board Chair Jo Anne Sanford and NCPAPA Executive Director Dr. Shirley Prince.
Kids enrolled in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History’s Evolutions After-School Program make art. The $2.1 billion, East Hartford, Conn.-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union donated $5,000 to the Evolutions (Evoking Learning and Understanding through Investigations of the Natural Science) program, a free science and college-focused program that provides academic support and science career exploration for 120 students from the New Haven and West Haven public school districts.
Clay Nodes (far right) and Tye McDaniel (second from right) with Robins Financial Credit Union present a check to representatives from Rebuilding Together Warner Robins. The $3.3 billion, Warner Robins, Ga.-based Robins Financial contributed $5,000 to the organization for National Rebuild Day. Rebuilding Together Warner Robins strengthens the lives of vulnerable communities by providing low-income homeowners with critical home repairs like electric, plumbing, roofing, heating, accessibility modifications, energy-efficient upgrades, painting and landscaping.
Please send your Community news items to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.