Fort Worth, Texas—Unity One Credit Union held its eleventh annual “Gear Up 4 School” supply giveaway on Saturday, August 19, from 8 – 10 a.m. at its Stockyards branch located at 2625 N. Main St. (across the street from Billy Bob’s parking lot and next to Los Vaqueros). The event, created to be a resource for families, gifts children with school mandated supplies while exposing them to small businesses and organizations in the community.

The credit union distributed 500 drawstring backpacks containing items such as: pencils, notebooks, crayons and scissors. Supplies were distributed on a first come, first served basis; students had to be present to receive the supplies. 

For the first time, the event featured FREE uniforms for attendees through a GoodPop clothing closet, which was graciously sponsored by Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth. Attendees also enjoyed learning about the importance of saving while decorating piggy banks at Unity One’s first Piggy Bank Workshop.

“This event exemplifies the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people.’ We are so thankful to be able to give back to the communities we serve through events like Gear Up 4 School. There’s no better feeling than to watch the smile on a child’s face when you help them get the supplies they need to excel in school,” said Gary Williams, president of Unity One Credit Union.

In addition to the backpack and uniform giveaways, attendees enjoyed free breakfast tacos, unlimited Kona Ice, caricature drawings and face painting, as well as the opportunity to visit booths manned by local businesses such as: the Fort Worth ISD Communications department, the United Way, the Fort Worth Library, LULAC and more.

Councilman Carlos Flores, Goodwill CEO David Cox and Father Jasso from All Saints Catholic Church also made an appearance at the event.

About Unity One Credit Union

Established in 1927, Unity One Credit Union is the oldest credit union in Texas. A member-driven and not-for-profit cooperative, Unity One CU served the employees and families of the BNSF Railway for 70 years. However, after transferring its corporate headquarters to Fort Worth in 1998, the credit union expanded its field of membership to include other non-railroad companies, organizations and individuals.

Today, anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Fort Worth, Blue Mound, Saginaw, Haslet, Keller, Colleyville, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Southlake, St. Paul, MN and Kansas City, KS may apply for membership. Unity One CU has eight branches to serve over 30,000 members nationwide. For more information about Unity One Credit Union, visit www.unityone.org. Think outside the bank.™

About Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth

Goodwill is more than a thrift store. The largest employer of people with disabilities in the world, Goodwill believes that work has the power to transform lives by building self-confidence, independence, creativity, trust and friendships. Everyone deserves this chance.

Goodwill Fort Worth’s 23 retail locations provide revenue through the sale of donated goods to support Goodwill’s mission – job training and career services for people with disabilities, such as physical or mental disabilities and other barriers to employment including lack of education or work experience and homelessness. For more information on Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth, please visit www.goodwillfortworth.org.