On October 7, Credit Union 1 will be hosting “POUR” – a wine-tasting and silent auction event to benefit Bean’s Café and the Children’s Lunchbox. Festivities will include a live and silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, plus an assortment of wine, prizes, and a complimentary wine glass. This snazzy, fun-filled event will be hosted in the atrium of our Anchorage headquarters building at 1941 Abbott Road!

This year’s POUR event is a first for Credit Union 1, Bean’s Café, and the Children’s Lunchbox, although our credit union has helped host a similar “Beans and Jeans” event in the past. With POUR, we’re trying something new, classy, and exciting to help gather donations for two very important Anchorage causes. Beans Café provides meals, day shelter and support services for homeless people throughout our city, and the Children’s Lunchbox helps support families who may have difficulty providing food for their children.

In September 2008, the Children's Lunchbox launched a pilot program dubbed “Just a Little Extra,” to help children who rely on the free or reduced breakfast and lunch program at school but struggle to eat on the weekends. Just A Little Extra provides a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner (with enough food to last at least four meals) for children to take home every Friday.

Check out the attached newsletter (below) to learn more about Hospice of Anchorage and their efforts in our community! If you'd like to get involved with this organization as a volunteer, click here for more details.

As a special project this year, Credit Union 1 has partnered with the American Red Cross of Alaska to spread disaster awareness and preparedness throughout our State. Part of this commitment involves donating Disaster Education Kits to every middle school in our statewide branch communities! That’s 25 schools!

These kits will help educate and prepare students and their families in case of emergency. We’re proud to make this donation, because it has the potential to help SO MANY people! In September and October, Credit Union 1 employees will visit each of the middle schools we’re donating to, so we can meet a few teachers and introduce them to their new kits.

Later this year, we’ll also be working with other non-profits in our branch communities to develop disaster preparedness kits that will be housed at community centers. This special project was the brain-child of CU1’s Community Service Committee, and I’m excited to see how our initiative will help raise disaster awareness and readiness throughout our State. If you know of an organization in your community who would like to help create or house a disaster kit, please email oneforallalaska@cu1.org to join in our project!

It’s official: this summer has been the rainiest in South-central Alaska’s recorded history. And now, school’s starting again!

While this may not have been the most productive season for outdoor activity and merriment, youth in our State still managed to accomplish great things (rain or shine). Many area teens worked summer jobs that benefit our local economy, they volunteered to help clean local parks and creeks, or they knocked on your door and asked to mow your lawn/rake leaves/babysit. If you know of a teen who helped brighten your community’s summer, leave a comment below!

To help celebrate the amazing youth across our State, Alaska’s Spirit of Youth organization is requesting nominations to consider for their annual awards banquet in Anchorage. Spirit of Youth’s Teen Advisory Council will review all nominees, and two finalists in each of eleven categories will be honored in the spring of 2011.

Let’s help make this nomination process a success! There’s no better way to support our future leaders than by acknowledging their accomplishments in the here and now – so if you know an outstanding youth ages 12-19, don’t keep it secret! Online nomination forms are available here. 

Want to get involved in the Spirit of Youth Campaign’s Teen Advisory Council? Call (907) 272-2875 or email info@spiritofyouth.org.

Summer has crested its peak, and the record levels of rain have been less than lovable. But like good Alaskans, we’ve made the best of it!

At Credit Union 1, we’ve brightened the season with a few great parties for our members – most recently in Fairbanks. Over Golden Days weekend in July, we threw a party/silent auction to raise money for Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption – and with CU1’s matching funds, we were able to donate over $5,000! This event was a huge success, and it helped out a really important local cause.

Our Fairbanks employees were particularly excited to raise money for counseling and adoption services, because family health is such a critical part of a healthy community!

Teresa, our Fairbanks 1st Avenue branch manager, with Doug and Camille from Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption. Doug is their Board President, and Camille is the Executive Director!