People helping people is the greater mission of credit unions across the world. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Tennessee Members 1st Federal Credit Union (TN Members 1st) works to invest in our local communities and the residents who live there but we know that true commitment to our community goes far beyond the products and services we’re able to offer as a local credit union. After receiving our CDFI designation in December of 2020, the credit union knew we could do more to highlight and support the amazing nonprofit organizations in our service area. From this desire to better serve our communities, our Commitment to Community Initiative was formed with a mission to partner with local organizations to make a difference through charitable giving and program support. The Commitment to Community Initiative utilizes the three service areas of education, engagement, and growth to connect our members and community to the missions and work of our partners. The initiative officially launched in October of 2021 and currently partners with 12 local nonprofit organizations to spread the ‘People Helping People’ mission outside of our branch walls and throughout the areas we serve by providing information and resources from trusted community partners (education), sharing information about and participating in opportunities to give back to the areas we serve (engagement), and responsibly participating in CDFI grant opportunities to help cultivate a growing, healthy local economy (growth). In conjunction with the Commitment to Community Initiative’s official launch and in addition to the newly established TN Members 1st FCU Scholarship available to students at Roane State Community College, providing $3,000 to students annually, TN Members 1st provided $4,750 in Commitment to Community donations from October 2021 through March 2022. Donations included $750 to Free Medical Clinic in support of their mission to provide no charge primary and medical care for low-income and uninsured residents; $750 to Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) in support of their annual Thanksgiving meal for those experiencing homelessness; $750 to Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) in support of their winter housing assistance programs; $750 to Remote Area Medical in support of their mission to provide mobile medical clinics delivering free dental, vision, and medical care to under-served and uninsured individuals; $500 in monetary donation and $250 in product donation to Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless (TORCH) in support of their 4th Annual Diaper Drive; and $1,000 to Girls Inc of TN Valley in support of their Girls Inc Economic Literacy® program. The credit union looks forward to continuing to support and give back to our community partners in 2022 through increased charitable giving and program support. Plans to enhance the Commitment to Community Initiative to include financial education opportunities and increased social media and digital notification updates are in the works for the remainder of 2022 and looking ahead to 2023. More information on our Commitment to Community Initiative can be found online at mymembersfirst.org/community. Photos from donation presentations are included with the submission, not pictured are the Remote Area Medical donation in January 2022 and TORCH donation in February 2022 due to schedule and staffing constraints when coordinating photo opportunities.
