Keeping our Community Connections

In February 2020, Champions First Credit Union launched the Financial Fitness program to help members like you “get financially fit” in 2020. Our members were encouraged to find out how they can save by contacting on of our “financial fitness trainers,” who were in a friendly competition to see who could save our members the most. Even after COVID-19 began affecting our area, we were still able to exceed our goal and totaled $409,771.34 in member savings. With 193 qualifying loans, we averaged $2,123 in savings for every member we helped.

Also, as part of a local social media initiative tagged #CUStrong, Champions First Credit Union donated to area organizations that are fighting hunger in local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Second Harvest of the Big Bend and the Emergency Student Relief funds for the main FSU campus and the FSU Panama City campus. The FSU Emergency Relief funds aid students not only experiencing food insecurity, but who are struggling with distance learning needs, rent money, and medical bills.

To continue the momentum of the #CUStrong initiative, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions offered a matching grant program, which Champions First Credit Union used to support Pace Center for Girls. Pace provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. The donated funds helped the Pace families who were dealing with food insecurity, limited technology for distance learning, and transportation issues. According to Pace, while delivering supplies to a family, one parent became emotional and began to cry. She stated, “We were on our last box of macaroni. This food will help us get by until I am able to go back to work!”

The Champions First Credit Community Involvement Council, which works to find causes within the community that Champions First Credit Union can contribute to and assist in fundraising goals, pledged to support the Relay for Life fundraising event that occurs in many places over the country, including Tallahassee and Perry. The Relay for Life movement is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraiser. Through the dedication of the Council and the endurance of the Tallahassee Champions First Credit Union and the Perry Tree Capital Credit Union, we were able to continue fundraising through our Teller lines and raised a total of $1,631.31 for Relay for Life!

Finally, we recently launched a promotion in which the credit union will donate $50 to the Foundation for Leon County Schools’ Internet for All initiative for every auto loan funded in August – October. The Foundation estimates as many as 800 local families are without internet, which will be essential as distance learning becomes a necessity for many families. The donations will go directly to the Internet for All initiative, providing an immediate impact to the community.

For more information on our community involvement initiatives, email [email protected].