A Year of Giving: A Look Back at Our Community Support in 2018

As 2018 winds down, we’re grateful to be able to look back on an incredibly fulfilling year, especially as it relates to the amazing things happening in our community, and our ability to support so many of the people, places, and ideas that are making a positive impact on our region.

3Rivers is so thankful and proud to be an active participant in the communities we serve. As a cooperative, we love being out and about, with the people and in the places that make this part of the Midwest so special. Through our volunteerism, education, financial support, and sponsorships, 3Rivers is committed to giving back, and we’re pretty passionate about it! Here’s a look at how we’ve supported our community's efforts this year.

Supporting Local Events

We sponsored and participated in dozens of local community events in 2018, ranging from festivals and arts performances, to sporting events and charity walks, to parades and fundraising events, to educational seminars, and so much more.

Some of our favorite weekends were spent taking in local and national music and arts while decorating piggy banks and playing yard games with kids at the Middle Waves Music Festival, walking to raise awareness and funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and planking for the Lifeline Planking Challenge. We also sponsored fundraising events for The American Heart Association, Grand Lake Hospice in St. Mary’s, Ohio, Erin’s House for Grieving Children, Amani Family Services, The Brandon Foundation, and many others. More recently, we’ve gotten into the holiday spirit, supporting the Embassy Theatre’s annual Breakfast with Santa event, taking part in Blue Jacket’s Fantasy of Lights display, sponsoring Fort Wayne Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” and more.

We also spent a lot of time out and about at community events in Decatur, where we opened a temporary branch this summer and will open the doors to our permanent location next year!

We are big fans of local sports, and are proud to partner with and cheer on the Fort Wayne Komets, TinCaps, and Mad Ants. Our support of the 3Rivers & Komets Hat Tricks this year resulted in $1,665, which was donated to Homebound Meals.

Additionally, we’re happy to support – and give a standing ovation to – the many performing arts organizations in our community, including Unity Performing Arts Foundation, Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, and the Fort Wayne Youtheatre.

In the midst of these many events, we found time to host two free community shred days, two Red Cross blood drives, a Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography stop, and multiple financial education events and seminars to encourage financial wellness in our region.

Volunteering Our Time

In addition to financial support, our 300+ team members are committed to volunteering their time and talent to a variety of causes, non-profit boards, and events throughout the year.

One of the highlights is our annual Give Back Day, which took place on  Columbus Day this year. While our branches were closed, over 200 of our team members spent their day off to volunteer at over 20 non-profits in the region. The day consisted of all sorts of tasks, ranging from preparing for the Great Zoo Halloween at The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, stocking food at Community Harvest Food Bank, cleaning up at Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, performing vital home repairs for Fort Wayne residents through NeighborLink, and much, much more.

Throughout the year, we also volunteered our time teaching Junior Achievement classes and children at Adams Elementary, staffing the phones for WFWA PBS pledge drives, serving on a variety of non-profit boards and committees, partaking in the United Way’s Day of Caring, and more.  Our team members have volunteered thousands of hours out in our community!

Donating Our Dollars

We just completed the final funding cycle of the year for our 3Rivers Credit Union Foundation. On Giving Tuesday, we got to go out and hand deliver all of the checks for this cycle to our grant recipients – a great way to get into the spirit of the season!

Since the Foundation was established in 2015, we have invested over $650,000 (to more than 100 non-profits) back into the communities we serve. The Foundation focuses on supporting financial literacy, education, and health and wellness. This year, we awarded nearly $250,000 in grants to programs addressing a variety of needs in our community.

It is an honor to support organizations like Turnstone, CASS Housing, Out of a Jam, Ronald McDonald House, and The Brandon Foundation, just to name a few. The Foundation also granted a special $50,000 to Junior Achievement this year, to help them build their new, state-of-the-art campus, located at Coldwater and Wallen Roads.

We have loved learning more about the many, many non-profits in our region that work tirelessly to improve lives in our community every day.

Outside of the Foundation, we have ongoing corporate partnerships with The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, Boys and Girls Club, Arts United, and many others. In an effort to support our members who are furthering their education, we awarded over $13,000 in college scholarships to nine deserving, local students.

We (and our community) are lucky to have so many generous team members, too. We hosted several donation drives, on a corporate and a team level, throughout the year, to benefit multiple local organizations. This year, for our Annual United Way Campaign, our team pledged more than $120,000 through contributions and matches. Additionally, we donated $2,500 to every county United Way in our seven-county service area this fall.

As 2018 comes to an end, we celebrate all those who work hard to make a difference in our community. We are grateful to live out the credit union philosophy of “people helping people" year after year, and look forward to having an even greater impact in 2019!