Santa looks a lot like CUs this year

MADISON, Wis. (12/22/06)--Credit unions opened their doors--and their hearts--for the holidays this year, providing comfort and joy for their members and communities.

Santa (aka California CU Senior Vice President Chris Kerecman) gets some assistance from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during California CU's 16th annual Parents of Watts Christmas Toy Giveaway. Several hundred inner-city third-graders received toys and lunch from the Glendale, Calif., credit union. (Photo provided by California CU)
Service Plus CU, Riverside, Calif., was a primary sponsor for the Blue Elf program, where Riverside police officers deliver Christmas toys and treats to more than 1,000 low-income children. The elves may look like Santa's "security detail," but they hand out candy, toys and books (The Press-Enterprise Dec. 14).

At Earthmover CU in Oswego, Ill., more than 50 children visited with Santa and credit union mascot Dewey the Dinosaur.

Commonwealth CU opened the doors of its Frankfort, Ky., branch to more than 250 families who came to visit Santa. Children also got to see a puppet show and make reindeer food during the 16th annual holiday gathering. The credit union also raised more than $12,700 for terminally ill children with the auction of 166 gift baskets.

Decorated theme trees provided a chance for CASE CU, Lansing, Mich., to raise money for Angel House, a temporary emergency shelter for neglected and abused children in Mason, Mich. (Lansing State Journal Dec. 13).

Credit unions also play Santa, even when they aren't donning red-and-white hats. CU Business Group LLC donated $1,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters in Portland, Ore., and the Pittsburgh Chapter of Credit Unions collected more than $1,000 in gift cards for Hearth, a transitional program for homeless women and children (Life is a Highway Dec. 15).

Pacific Service CU donated $22,500 to the Salvation Army for its holiday gift basket program, while employees of the Walnut Creek, Calif., credit union supported the Contra Costa Food Bank, Toys for Tots and Bay Area Crisis Nursery.

Another gift basket auction--this one by Altier CU in Phoenix--raised more than $4,600 for Special Olympics Arizona.

Moonlight CU, Worthington, Pa., adopted a family of six and provided gifts for elderly residents of the County Health Center.

AurGroup Financial CU, Fairfield, Ohio, and CINCO Family Financial Center CU, Cincinnati, struck a high note with their Children's Miracle Network bowl-a-thon. Together, the Ohio credit unions raised more than $12,046 for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (eLeaguer Dec. 14).

The "Neediest Cases Appeal" drew a $600 donation from the Kanawha Valley Chapter of the West Virginia Credit Union League (Charleston Gazette Dec. 8).

Lauren Byowitz was named Youth Ambassador during the Montgomery County Chapter of Credit Unions' holiday celebration. She is an employee of TruMark Financial CU, Trevose, Pa. The chapter also collected toys for the Salvation Army and donated $6,000 for Camp Rainbow (Life is a Highway Dec. 15).

Utah Central CU, Salt Lake City, and the West Jordan Rotary Club teamed up to donated 130 dictionaries to Welby Elementary School (The Salt Lake Tribune Dec. 1).

Military personnel deployed overseas also get special treatment during the holidays. Orange County Teachers FCU, Santa Ana, Calif., raised more than $1,600 to send holiday packages overseas through the Army National Guard Armory's Operation Gratitude program.

Carolina Postal CU, Charlotte, N.C., launched Operation CU Troop to deliver personal care and food items, and letters from area schoolchildren. Branch Manager Nelle Baldwin worked to get the items ready in time for the USO to deliver them for the holidays (FOCUS November/December 2006).

Combine a sweet tooth and the tooth fairy, and you get the Houston Texas Fire Fighters FCU's contribution to Operation Interdependence. The credit union held a bake sale, which raised $760, but it also hooked up with three Houston dentists who donated more than 200 toothbrushes and toothpaste for the troops (LoneStar Leaguer Dec. 1).

Resource One CU, Dallas, raised $1,217 for Operation Mailbag, and Neches FCU worked with Val Verde Baptist Church in Port Neches, Texas, to collect boxes of items to be shipped overseas.

Vantage CU, Bridgeton, Mo., picked a soldier from St. Charles, Mo., as the recipient of its care package this holiday season (CourierNet Dec. 13).

Coat drives continue to be popular for credit unions to show their warmth. Twenty-two Missouri credit unions joined Warners' Warm-Up to collect 2,115 coats for the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation.

CommonWealth One FCU, Alexandria, Va., collected 100 coats, while Corpus Christi (Texas) City Employees CU provided new shoes and socks for 50 elementary schoolchildren (US Fed News Dec. 6).

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