Guest post from University Federal Credit Union.
This month University Federal Credit Union celebrated 80 years of serving Austin and Galveston through authentic, lasting relationships with our members and the community. At UFCU we focus on people, not profits, and our desire to Do Good is our difference. After 80 years, we continue to be thoughtful in the ways we’re Of Service to the community because it’s such an important part of our identity.
Being Of Service is not a one-time event. It’s about being integrated into mission-driven organizations and causes that ignite our passions and improve our world. In that effort, UFCU has recently launched an Employee Volunteer Program to support activities that enhance and serve the communities in which our employees and our members live and work, and the issues that impact their quality of life.
Through our new Employee Volunteer Program, we are empowering our employees to Do Good together using paid time away from work to volunteer for a charitable organization of their choosing.
In addition, we have also established a new partnership program with community organizations that strategically align with UFCU’s core values. In 2016, our three partner organizations are Seton Healthcare Family (Including the Ronald McDonald House of Austin), Meals on Wheels and More, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin. All three provide critical services in our community, and we are proud to support their efforts through sponsorships and coordinated volunteer activities.
Individual, group, and department volunteer opportunities with our partner organizations are coordinated by – and actively communicated to – UFCU employees on a regular basis in order to promote awareness and participation. Some of our favorite recent UFCU Do Good volunteer efforts include:
Supporting Bicycle Safety
Our Contact Center team members assisted Seton Healthcare Family by adorning more than 600 bicycle helmets with Dell Children’s Medical Center stickers. The process began by unpacking all the helmets, affixing stickers, and then carefully repacking each one. Seton delivered the helmets to local YMCA locations to support bike safety.
Celebrating Spring at the Club!
Employees from across UFCU came together to create “Spring Goody Bags” for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin. Kelly Zinser from our Teravista Financial Center, and one of the team members who delivered the bags, had this to say about visiting the Club: “The event was a great way to show our involvement in the community and make a connection with high school students who are about to enter college or the workforce and could leverage the credit union’s education and support for their financial success.”
Pet Treat Packages
The Do Good team took time out of their day to make 150 pet treat packages for the Meals on Wheels and More Pets Assisting the Lives of Seniors (PALS) program. There were some happy pups in Central Texas that evening!
These volunteer opportunities not only promote teambuilding and engagement among our staff; more importantly, they allow us to continue serving our members and our communities in accordance with the credit union principles that have guided us for 80 years and counting.
About UFCU
Exceeding $2 billion in assets, UFCU serves over 204,000 members in Central Texas and Galveston County. UFCU provides a variety of products, services and educational programs to meet needs through all phases of life. To learn more about UFCU’s products and services, including low rate auto loans, visit ufcu.org.
UFCU is also proud to have several Leadership Austin alumni on our team! They are: Emmy Hill (Emerge 2015), Jim McCurdy (Affiliate), Heather McKissick (Essential 1998), Anamita Mukherjee (Essential 2013), John Petrey (Experience Austin), Jason Qunell (Essential 2010), Laurie Roberts (Essential 2013), Yung Tran (Experience Austin), Hermann Wendorff (Experience Austin), and Kevin Wolfshohl (Experience Austin).
NOTE: The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni, faculty members, and guest bloggers are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization.