CUs on the Tube: Wisconsin CUs share the REAL story

PEWAUKEE, Wis. (5/16/08)--Wisconsin credit unions are telling the stories of how they are serving members through REAL Solutions in a video created by the Wisconsin Credit Union League.

The league interviewed representatives from several credit unions about how they are helping members. The league collected "hours of footage," and shared the highlights in a 13-minute video, Chad Helminak, league public relations specialist, told News Now.

The league decided to create the video, "The Real Story about Wisconsin Credit Unions," after finishing a more formal video on REAL Solutions that emphasized the importance of outreach and REAL Solutions to credit unions.

REAL Solutions is a program aimed at helping provide financial services to people of low-wealth and modest means, and is a signature program of the National Credit Union Foundation.

"We wanted to touch on some of the smaller aspects," Helminak said. He defined REAL Solutions as anything credit unions do without profit for members.

To encourage participation in the interviews, the league took a camcorder to its annual convention and raffled off a Nintendo Wii to participants who shared their stories.

The reaction to the video has been one of pride. "We have great stories, and when other credit unions see them, they're inspired to tell their story," Helminak said.

Jill Weber, league director of member solutions, agreed. "For our first time doing something like this, we're very pleased with how it turned out," she said.

The league hopes to continue creating videos and using interview snippets for podcasts, Helminak added.

Resource Links

REAL Solutions