NEW YORK CITY - In a continued effort to empower youth throughout the New York area, Municipal Credit Union (MCU) partnered with the New York Jets to present a donation of $200,000 to the New York City Department of Education (DOE). The donation, which was presented at a STOMP Out Bullying school recognition event held at Queens Metropolitan High School during Respect for All Week on February 13th, will go towards the Building Respect: Respect for All Conversation Skills online training simulations. The online training will enable New York City educators and school communities to identify and address best practices in creating bias- and bully-free environments.

“We’re very proud to work with the New York Jets to provide the resources that will enable educators to access these valuable tools to help create bias- and bully-free environments. We know this program will truly make a difference, and are pleased that our partnership with the New York Jets, as its official credit union, is affording MCU the opportunity to have a lasting impact in the communities we serve,” said MCU President/CEO Kam Wong.

“We are proud of our anti-bullying efforts to date and are honored to work with MCU to help the New York City Department of Education fight this issue in our schools,” said Jets President Neil Glat. “We are committed to continuing the efforts to stop bullying in the communities that we serve, and this online training course will equip teachers and staff with the necessary tools and knowledge needed to tackle bullying.” MCU is the Official Credit Union of the New York Jets. As part of its partnership, MCU works closely with the sports organization and its efforts to end bullying, including the Jets Tackle Bullying Initiative. The Jets Tackle Bullying Initiative aims to create awareness about a national epidemic that effects every community by reaching educators and students in the tri-state area through school visits, annual educator symposiums, and weekly programs that celebrate students who are working to resolve bullying in their schools. These efforts include the Upstander of the Week program, which rewards and recognizes students from participating schools who stand up against bullying.

Municipal Credit Union is the oldest credit union in New York State and one of the oldest and largest in the country. Established in 1916 and serving New Yorkers for 101 years, MCU has more than $2.6 billion in assets, branches in the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and Westchester, an extensive ATM network, and offers a full range of financial products and services to its more than 425,000 members. MCU membership is open to a wide range of employer groups including New York City and Yonkers municipal employees; state and federal employees who work in the five boroughs; health care professionals who work in New York State; employees of private colleges in New York City and private and public colleges in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester; students enrolled in a college, university, school, or institution in the City University of New York (CUNY) education system and St. John’s University; members of select industry groups; certain family members, and qualifying retirees. MCU is actively involved with its members and in giving back to the communities in which it serves. It is the official credit union of the NFL's New York Jets and of St. John's University Athletics. It is also the naming rights sponsor of MCU Park in Coney Island, the home of the Mets minor league affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones, where MCU sponsors its annual MCU/Brooklyn Cyclones Youth Baseball/Softball Clinic Series, now in its fourth year. MCU's educational efforts include a scholarship program, home buying seminars, and its Adult and Youth Financially Fit series, which has been awarded the NY Credit Union Association's prestigious Desjardins Financial Education Award for the past two years. MCU is an equal opportunity lender, and deposits are federally insured to at least $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. government agency. For more information about Municipal Credit Union, visit www.nymcu.org.

Photo: The New York Jets and Municipal Credit Union presented the New York City Department of Education with a $200,000 check to support the DOE's Building Respect: Respect for All Conversations Skills online training to help educators and school communities identify and create bias- and bully-free environments. Shown at the check presentation held at Queens Metropolitan High School on February 13th are: (from left to right) STOMP Out Bullying Founder and CEO Ross Ellis; MCU Vice President of Business Development/Member Relations Corey Fernandes; New York Jets Team President Neil Glat; New York City DOE Deputy Chancellor Elizabeth Rose; New York City DOE Chief Executive Officer, Office of Safety and Youth Development Lois Herrera, and former NY Jets player Tony Richardson.