Community Involvement Continues
To Be A Priority For Scott Credit Union
Financial Cooperative Donates $430,000,

Employees volunteer 2,100 Hours in Communities during 2016

Scott Credit Union has made giving back to its communities a major priority.

The local credit union contributed about $430,000 and its employees volunteered 2,100 hours to a variety of local civic efforts throughout the region through the end of 2016.

The credit union has contributed approximately $2.2 million and its employees have volunteered over 17,000 hours to a variety of local civic efforts and financial education throughout the region in past eight years.

“We realize that without our members and the communities in which we serve, we would not exist as a financial alternative,” said Scott Credit Union Community Relations Supervisor Jennifer Hess. “Through the end of the year, we donated about $430,000 to a variety of fundraising efforts for charities, schools and civic and community organizations.”

Scott Credit Union’s top volunteer in 2016 was Karen Nicholson. She volunteered 201 hours at 76 events throughout the area last year.

“I am proud to have been employed by Scott Credit Union for over 24 years and to have earned the honor of VIP of the Year for 2016,” Nicholson noted. “It has been an awesome, humbling and rewarding experience. SCU truly believes in giving back to the community and as our VIP program continues to grow, I am honored to be part of that team.”

“While volunteering for over 200 hours, I was able to give back to the community while getting to meet fellow employees and their children,” Nicholson added. “As a VIP Team Lead, I was also able to encourage fellow employees to participate and reap the rewards of volunteering. Some of the events I found most rewarding were the O’Fallon Community Thanksgiving Dinner and the Illinois Center for Autism's Dinner Auction.”

Scott Credit Union created its Volunteer Incentive (VIP) Program to show how important community involvement is to the organization and to encourage the staff to volunteer their time supporting local efforts, Hess said.

“Through our VIP Program, we offer our staff a chance to win prizes for volunteering,” she explained. “Last year, our volunteers logged 2,100 hours in community service at a variety of charitable or civic events. We are extremely excited and proud of our staff for all that they do to give back to the community.”

The credit union has increased its community involvement in the past few years while also increasing its efforts to educate consumers of the value of doing their financial business with a not-for-profit credit union.

“We really want people in the area to know more about the value of doing business with a credit union,” Hess added. “That is why we have focused our time on educating area residents about Scott Credit Union. A couple of the ways we’ve done that is through our community involvement and through our employees giving financial education presentations. Last year, the employees in our Speakers Bureau presented financial topics at 33 speaking engagements to more than 550 people.”

“Conducting financial business with a credit union saves the consumer real money,” said Scott Credit Union President & CEO Frank Padak. “Many credit unions, like Scott Credit Union, offer similar products and services to what the conventional financial institutions have, but we do so with our members’ best interest in mind because we are a not-for-profit cooperative. Plus, we care about the community and we are committed to supporting local efforts through contributions and volunteerism.”

Scott Credit Union has supported many regional and local projects in and around the 13 communities in which it has branches, Hess noted.

“We pledged $20,000 to the American Cancer Society,” she added. “We completed our pledge of $20,000 per year for five years for the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland. We also pledged $50,000 per year for five years for the new St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon.”

Scott Credit Union contributed $5,000 to the MS Society, $15,000 to the Gateway Region YMCA, $12,000 to the American Heart Association, and $15,000 to 375th Force Support Squadron and $2,500 to 126th Air Refueling Wing programs at Scott Air Force Base.

The local cooperative credit union also contributed $3,000 to Special Olympics and $5,000 to the Edwardsville YMCA.

“We also donated $1,000 to several other community groups, including Hope Rescues, the Edwardsville Little Tigers Football, Mascoutah Little Indians Football and the Troy Titans Football Club,” she added.

Scott Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that is member owned. The credit union recently gave nearly $1.5 million back to members through a bonus dividend and loan interest rebate.

Scott Credit Union is open to anyone who lives or works in a 17 county area, including Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, Perry, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Clinton, Marion, Bond, Macoupin, Montgomery, Fayette, Effingham, Williamson, and Jackson counties. Anyone who lives or works in St. Louis County, Missouri also can open accounts at SCU. Additionally, anyone active or retired military also can have accounts with Scott Credit Union.

Scott Credit Union currently has 15 area locations: Scott Air Force Base, East Belleville, Fairview Heights, Collinsville, O’Fallon, Edwardsville, Waterloo, Highland, Caseyville, West Belleville, Millstadt, Mascoutah, Troy, Wood River and its Home Office in Edwardsville.

For details on opening accounts at Scott Credit Union, visit www.scu.org, call 1-800-888-4728, or stop by any of the credit union’s branches.