Credit Unions Kick Off Fall With Hefty Community Donations

Participants of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, including CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle (front row, third from left) and NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger (to Nussle’s left) present a $180,059 donation to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C. Of the total donated to CMN Hospitals, $25,462 was raised by runners, their families and friends. Traditionally held the first Sunday in April, the 48th running of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run was postponed to September this year due to pandemic restrictions. PSCU, CO-OP Financial and CUNA Mutual Group served as the co-lead sponsors.

Savannah State University students and staff accept a $2,500 donation from Center Parc Credit Union, a division of the $2.5 billion, Atlanta-based APCU, to enhance its Campus Community Garden in Savannah, Ga., on Aug. 23. Developed as a means for students who face food insecurities to be able to grow healthy foods affordably, the garden provides hands-on learning experiences and serves as a gathering place for faculty, staff and students to demonstrate a green economy. It was established in March 2021 with 16 eight-square-foot plots and now holds 26 plots as well as a “take-home” box that offers free produce to anyone on campus.

The preserved skeletons of two dinosaurs acquired by the Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences will soon have a new home at the SECU DinoLab. A groundbreaking ceremony held at the museum’s Nature Research Center in downtown Raleigh, N.C., kicked off the construction of the paleontology conservation lab for the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit featuring a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops. At the event, the SECU Foundation, the charitable arm of the $49.9 billion SECU in Raleigh, presented a $2 million challenge grant to the Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Pictured from left are SECU Foundation Board Members McKinley Wooten, Jr., Jim Johnson (retired) and Alice Garland, SECU President/CEO Jim Hayes, SECU Foundation Board Chair Jo Anne Sanford, retired SECU President/CEO Mike Lord, SECU Board Chair Bob Brinson and SECU Foundation Board Member Chris Ayers.

Employees of the $8.7 billion, Hauppage, N.Y.-based Teachers Federal Credit Union pose for a photo at the Family Service League’s (FSL) Walk for Wellness on Sept. 11 at Belmont Lake State Park in Babylon, N.Y. Teachers FCU donated back-to-school shoes to over 100 children currently living in an FSL shelter in Brentwood, N.Y., as well as participated in the 2021 Walk for Wellness, which raised awareness and funds for the social services agency’s 60 programs serving children and adults on Long Island, N.Y. This year’s walk was dedicated to those lost on 9/11 and those who helped heal the community post-9/11.

The 2021 Tower Classic Golf Tournament, hosted by the TowerCares Foundation – the charitable arm of Tower Federal Credit Union ($3.9 billion, Laurel, Md.) – raised over $26,000 to help critically ill children receiving care at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore’s local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Over 85 golfers participated in the tournament, held Aug. 27 at Renditions Golf Course in Davidsonville, Md. Pictured from left to right are TowerCares Foundation Board Members Al Smith (secretary), Rick Stafford (president), Allen Brisentine (director) and Tom Poe (treasurer).

Eric and Wendy Gillett of Casitas Rowing, a non-profit that provides rowing instruction and competitive programs to over 5,000 people each year, celebrate a donation from the $1.2 billion, Ventura, Ca.-based Ventura County Credit Union. VCCU offers its board members $10,000 at retirement to donate to non-profits of their choice. In honor of his recent retirement from the board, Phil Bohan chose to contribute $5,000 to each Food Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank, and Casitas Rowing.

Please send your Community News items to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.