Press Release

Five, $15,000 gifts were made on behalf of five credit union partners

(Minneapolis, MN) — To celebrate the commitment of credit unions to their members and communities, Elan selected five of its credit union partners to designate a charity in their community to receive a $15,000 donation on the credit union’s behalf.

Elan Credit Card General Manager, John Owens, shared, “The relationships between Elan and our credit union partners goes far beyond our business partnership. We know the impact credit unions are making in their neighborhoods — and we want to celebrate that and support it. That’s why we launched our charitable giving program and we’re so proud to continue the program with these gifts on Credit Union Day.”

The five selected nonprofits share the mission of “people helping people” and are all working to support their communities with the resources and care needed to emphasize health. Focus areas include supporting children in foster care or who are critically ill, providing emergency shelter for teens, free eye exams, and empowering families of color to positively connect with their community.

The Elan credit union partners and selected beneficiaries for Credit Union Day 2022 include:

• Connex Credit Union (Urban Community Alliance)
• Copper State Credit Union (Arizona Helping Hands)
• Millbury Federal Credit Union (Millbury Lions Club)
• St. Mary's Credit Union (Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island)
• Texoma Community Credit Union (Children's Aid Society of West Texas, Inc.)

In 2023, Elan plans to organize an in-person volunteer event to celebrate this initiative. This will provide the opportunity for Elan team members to work alongside our credit union partners and further our charitable commitment.

To learn more about each organization, credit union, and the impact Elan is making in communities through its charitable giving initiative visit http://www.elancharitablegiving.com/credit-union-day. 

About Arizona Helping Hands
Founded in 1998, Arizona Helping Hands (AHH) supports the foster care community, by providing essentials to benefit children in foster care. Arizona’s largest service provider of essential needs to children in foster care, AHH’s services support more than 6,000 children in foster care per year with items, including beds, clothing, diapers, hygiene items, and even birthday gifts. With more than 12,000 children in foster care across the state and less than 3,000 foster families, AHH also helps families become licensed providers by ensuring they can offer a safe home environment by offering state-required home safety items at no cost. The community at AHH provides children in foster care with the things they need to not only survive but thrive. www.azhelpinghands.org

About Children’s Aid Society of West Texas, Inc.
The Children’s Aid Society, a non-profit agency has been serving the children of North Texas since the 1912 when our agency got its charter. CAS operates two programs: the Children’s Home and the Teen Shelter. Both shelters are licensed as Emergency Shelters and Assessment Centers through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The agency shelters youth ages 2-17 who are abused, neglected, abandoned, or runaway homeless youth. The agency provides a safe, supportive environment, medical and counseling services, and outreach. www.caswt.org

About Connex Credit Union
Connex Credit Union is one of Connecticut’s largest credit unions serving more than 66,000 members at 8 branches. Headquartered in North Haven, Connecticut, Connex is a full-service member-owned credit union that offers members a full range of financial services and products. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, attends school or worships in New Haven, Hartford, Middlesex, or Fairfield Counties. www.connexcu.org

About Copper State Credit Union
Copper State CU empowers Arizona families to achieve financial prosperity. From checking to borrowing and saving, Copper State CU offers Arizonans a smarter way to bank. Our members have access to cutting-edge financial products and services while enjoying the benefit of a dedicated, local team ready to help them achieve their financial goals. www.copperstatecu.org

About Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. In the face of life-threatening medical conditions, wishes enable children to experience profound joy, renewed strength and resiliency, and lasting hope to keep striving and dreaming for the future. Together with generous supporters and 300+ volunteers, the organization has granted the wishes of more than 9,000 children in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023. Its vision is to grant the wish of every medically eligible child. www.wish.org/massri

About Millbury Federal Credit Union
Millbury Federal Credit Union (MCU) began in 1934, with 20 members and total assets of $100.00.  Today, assets exceed $470 million, with over 32,000 members throughout Worcester County. As a community credit union, MCU prides itself in giving back to the communities in which we serve. MCU is a large contributor to local non-profit organizations and awards several local scholarships annually to deserving high school graduates. MCU employees are encouraged to volunteer with local non-profit agencies, youth groups, schools, and churches. MCU’s continued success is based on the Credit Union philosophy — helping each other achieve basic financial goals, with a special feeling of “family.” www.millburycu.com

About Millbury Lions Club
The Millbury Lions Foundation, Inc. was organized to work and to raise funds for the purpose of sight, eye research, and diabetes education but more importantly to meet our community needs. Through our past fundraising, the Millbury Lions have been able to assist with diabetes camp scholarships to Millbury campers, provide Christmas gifts to hundreds of Millbury children, give scholarships for continuing education to Millbury students, donated fire boots to the Millbury Fire Department and continue to provide local support to the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund that helps people with a wide range of eye diseases. www.millburylions.org

About St. Mary's Credit Union
Since 1913 St. Mary’s Credit Union has provided financial resources to our customers, business community and charitable organizations. Today, utilizing the benefits of technology and electronic delivery channels, SMCU offers membership benefits to a broad geographic region that includes all of Middlesex, Worcester, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties. We are committed to our customers and support our local businesses, so the neighborhood thrives and reinvest in the community for the common good. www.stmaryscu.org

About Texoma Community Credit Union
Texoma Community Credit Union is a democratically controlled financial cooperative founded in 1953 that serves Wichita County and 18 surrounding counties. Because it is "not-for-profit, not-for-charity, but for service," all income, after expenses and necessary reserves, is given back to our members in the form of enhanced services, lower fees, lower loan rates and higher deposit rates. Its mission is to build a community where everyone is given the tools to become RICH. (Ready, Independent, Charitable, and Happy). www.texomacu.com

About Urban Community Alliance
The Urban Community Alliance (UCA) was formed in 2020 through the merger of the New Haven Family Alliance (NHFA) and Veterans Empowering Teens Through Support (V.E.T.T.S.). Both agencies felt compelled to merge their programs and operations to strengthen, expand, and offer barrier-breaking services to men, women, and families throughout the City of New Haven. Our mission is to empower families of color to develop healthy attachments and promote physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being while creating a positive connection to their communities. We envision that every family is supported, self-sufficient, and thriving.
www.urbancommunityalliance.org

Elan Media Contact
Todd Deutsch
612.303.4148