acoma, WA- The Northwest Credit Union Association hosted their annual MAXX Conference October 16th-18th in 2018. The conference included great keynote presentations from Troy Stang (President/CEO of the Association), Jonah Berger (marketing expert), and more. Incredible sessions including some on Artifical Intelligence, digital banking, and an overview of the political climate. But none of these can quite compare to the ‘New York, New York’ themed auction and gala that took place on Wednesday evening. With a difficult goal raise $350k in one evening, this group rallied together to make an everlasting impact at the 8 children’s hospitals supported by the evening and raised an astonishing $628,226.49!

Kicked off with the most beautiful and tear-jerking rendition of Hallelujah by Cass Huff, a miracle child/patient treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Her voice, her strength, and her story immediately inspired a room of hundreds of credit union leaders. Cass is just 1 of 150 people in the world with Conradi-Hunermann Syndrome, a severe form of scoliosis. Despite 42 surgeries, being blind in one eye, and being deaf in one ear, Cass aspires to star on Broadway.

Throughout the evening, there was a silent, digital auction. The Greater Tacoma Conference Center catered a delicious meal. Guests were graced with famed auctioneer Sean Kelly to lead the evenings bidding.

“Thanks to the generosity of all of our sponsors, donors, and bidders, Credit Unions for Kids will again make miracles happen,” said Holly Miller, NWCUA Project Manager and Auction Coordinator. “The funds raised at the auction will support research, treatments at the CMN hospitals, and will provide comfort to the families of hospitalized children. Does it really get any better than that?”

The evening could not be possible without the premier ‘Times Square Sponsor:’ CUNA Mutual Group. As well as support from Horizon Credit Union marketing team by creating all designs and materials.

CU4kids is a program run by Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. In over 22 years of partnering, CU4kids has raised an astonishing $170 million+! CMN Hospitals raises funds and awareness for 170 children’s hospitals around North America, with every dollar raised staying in each local community. To learn more about CU4kids and CMN Hospitals, visit the website here.