CUs Give to Boys & Girls Clubs, Hospitals, Food Banks & the Salvation Army

Donna Williams (center), community development liaison for Center Parc Credit Union, a division of the $2.5 billion, Atlanta-based Atlanta Postal Credit Union, along with Stephanie Aiesi (left) and Michelle Williams with Kidney Innovations, distribute free vegetables and provide free blood pressure screenings at the Garden City Homestead Association community garden during its first harvest of the new year on Jan. 29. The event also featured educational content on diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease. The Garden City Homestead Association garden is one of nine community gardens throughout Georgia’s Chatham County to which Center Parc has donated approximately $22,500 in sponsorship dollars.

Point Breeze Credit Union ($935 million, Hunt Valley, Md.) donated $10,000 to six local hospitals in the greater Baltimore region totaling $60,000, supporting each hospital’s specific needs and continued efforts to support health care workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured from left to right at a check presentation to Northwest Hospital in Owings Hills, Md., on Feb. 3 are Point Breeze Owings Mills Branch Manager Lenore Brownley; Point Breeze President/CEO Tonia Niedzialkowski and Northwest Hospital – Lifebridge Health President Craig Carmichael. The donations were given to hospitals that serve communities in which Point Breeze has office locations. The five other hospitals to receive donations were University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health in Bel Air, Md., MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Md., and Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Md.

The $1.2 billion, Rochester, N.Y.-based The Summit Federal Credit Union’s “Plates of Thanks” campaign, held during the last two months of 2021, raised $5,000 to provide nutritious food for neighbors in need. Buffalo, N.Y.-area members of The Summit purchased “plates” of different values, with all proceeds benefitting FeedMore Western New York (WNY). Employees of The Summit joined the effort with plate purchases as well. Pictured from left to right are FeedMore WNY’s Caitlin Evans, The Summit Head Teller Nedra Munson, The Summit Sr. Member Services Specialist Helen Siuta, The Summit Director of Regional Branch Services for Buffalo Keith Parwulski, The Summit Delaware/Hertel Branch Manager Mia Cheney and Feedmore WNY’s Marinda Frazier.

Teens from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State pose for a photo. The $4.6 billion, Olympia, Wash.-based WSECU recently announced that as part of a broadcast sponsorship with local cable channel ROOT SPORTS, it would be donating $250 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington for every regular season goal made by the Seattle Kraken professional ice hockey team. The Kraken scored 101 goals as of their Jan. 17 game, averaging just under three goals per game for over $25,000 in donations from WSECU. Maintaining this average, the credit union estimated that Kraken goals will prompt over $56,000 in donations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington.

Volunteers from Great Lakes Credit Union ($1 billion, Bannockburn, Ill.) run a craft booth where families created Sakura trees and cherry blossoms, a common representation of a time of renewal and impending spring, during the 40th Annual Lunar New Year celebration in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood on Feb. 5. GLCU served as a parade and event sponsor for the event, which was organized by Chicago’s Uptown United and 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman and featured a parade, family activities, community-led speeches, cultural performances, and pop-up events hosted by local businesses and organizations. Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate East and Southeast Asian traditions and welcome in the New Year, the Year of the Tiger.

Members of Ascentra Credit Union ($534 million, Bettendorf, Iowa) raised more than $23,000 through the credit union’s Ride 50 auto loan promotion during the 2021 holiday season. Beginning in October 2021, Ascentra members who qualified for an auto loan or refinance received $50 to help with holiday spending, as well as a $50 donation to the Salvation Army in their community. Salvation Army locations in four communities received donations: Quad Cities, Clinton and Muscatine, Iowa and Moline, Ill. Ascentra also raised awareness for the Salvation Army in the communities it serves by working with local staff to develop a webpage that highlighted the programs and services offered to residents. Pictured from left to right at one of four check presentations are Maj. Robert Doliber and Kelle Larned of Salvation Army of the Quad Cities, Ascentra President/CEO Linda Andry, Ascentra SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Naeve, Ascentra SVP and COO Shelly Ridgeway and Marissa Soliz-Davison of Salvation Army of the Quad Cities.

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