Downtown Kansas City, Mo. (Source: AdobeStock).
Four years after becoming the official banking partner of the Kansas City Chiefs, CommunityAmerica Credit Union is launching a financial education and philanthropic initiative with Travis Kelce, tight end for the professional football team, the credit union announced Thursday.
According to the $4.9 billion, Lenexa, Kan.-based CommunityAmerica, the credit union will be working with Kelce and local organizations to bring financial education tools and programs to people living in the Kansas City, Mo., area. The formal partnership follows Kelce's development of the Ignition Lab at Operation Breakthrough, a Kansas City charitable organization that CommunityAmerica has supported. Operation Breakthrough provides low-income and homeless children with meals, education and health care, and the Ignition Lab, which Kelce opened with backing from his foundation Eighty-Seven & Running, offers educational and career skills programs for high school-age kids who have completed Operation Breakthrough's programs for younger age groups.
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"Since I came to KC (Kansas City), I've watched (President/CEO) Lisa (Ginter) and her team at CommunityAmerica play a major role in giving back to this city," Kelce stated. "I love what they've done to support Operation Breakthrough, which is close to me after founding their Ignition Lab with Eighty-Seven & Running to assist teens in providing a workforce development program to pursue better careers after graduation. Together, I know we'll do even more for our community to set Kansas City up for success well into the future."
CommunityAmerica Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Whitney Bartelli commented, "There is great synergy between Travis, our CEO, Lisa Ginter, and her vision for CommunityAmerica to help Kansas Citians get on a path to thrive and achieve financial peace of mind. The passion and heart that Travis and Lisa share to develop high-impact financial education and hands-on tools were key drivers in making this partnership a natural and winning fit."
In addition to serving as the Chiefs' official banking partner, CommunityAmerica has a partnership deal with NFL Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the credit union noted.
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Natasha Chilingerian
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.
