Ascend FCU’s $200,000 Gift Brings Pediatric Rehab to Local Hospital
Plus, Maryland’s First Financial announces a grand total of $300,000 in donations to community partners in 2023.
In one of the largest credit union charitable donations announced so far in 2024, the $4.2 billion, Tullahoma, Tenn.-based Ascend Federal Credit Union gave $200,000 to fund a new Pediatric Rehabilitation Center at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
According to last week’s announcement, the donation will support a longtime vision to bring an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit to Monroe Carell, allowing children who need comprehensive rehabilitation care and their families to stay in state and closer to home.
“We are so incredibly grateful to Ascend for its longstanding commitment to support the health and well-being of children at Monroe Carell,” Monroe Carell President Meg Rush stated. “Ascend’s latest gift moves us closer to realizing our vision for a dedicated pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit to provide Tennessee children a space to heal close to home. We cannot do what we do every day to bring hope and healing to families without the tremendous generosity and support of partners like Ascend.”
Ascend has donated more than $483,000 to the hospital since 1998, and Ascend President/CEO Matt Jernigan sits on the hospital’s advisory board. Another recent gift from the credit union totaling $100,000 funded the construction of the Pediatric Heart Institute, a 38-bed, 40,000-square-foot space on the 10th floor of Monroe Carell, and resulted in a room on the 10th floor being named for Ascend.
“Tennesseans throughout the state take great pride in the admirable efforts of Monroe Carell, bringing hope to children and their families,” Jernigan stated. “We express gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with this esteemed institution, contributing to the vital mission it serves in our community and the broader state of Tennessee.”
In other credit union charitable giving news, First Financial Federal Credit Union ($1.2 billion, Sparks, Md.) revealed it donated over $300,000 to community partners and organizations throughout 2023.
First Financial concluded the year with a series of six initiatives resulting in over $35,000 in donations and support for community organizations serving Maryland’s Baltimore, Carroll, Somerset and Worcester Counties:
- An $8,500 donation for WBAL Radio’s annual WBAL Kids Campaign in Baltimore County, which supports Baltimore youth with academic scholarships, summer programs and grants to provide toys and basic needs for children and their families over the holiday season.
- A donation of $9,500 worth of holiday hams, provided by Hahn’s of Westminster in Westminster, Md., to Carroll County Food Sunday, which serves families in Westminster, Eldersburg and Taneytown, Md.
- First Financial employees’ adoption of 26 children in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County’s annual gift drive and a donation of $850 for programs at the Clubs.
- Donations of $2,500 each to Families in Transition programs at Worcester County Public Schools and Somerset County Public Schools.
- Donations of $2,500 each to The Judy Centers that work in conjunction with the Somerset and Worcester County public school systems, providing support to disadvantaged families with young children.
- A $10,000 donation to a new First Financial partner, the Dr. Nancy Grasmick Leadership Institute (pictured), which helps fund leadership programming and resources for Baltimore County Public School professionals.