A Year of Giving: A Look Back at Our 2024 Community Efforts
This article was submitted by the 3Rivers Community Team.
As we look back on 2024, we’re grateful to be able to reflect on another fantastic and incredibly eventful year of community giving.
3Rivers takes pride in actively engaging with the communities we serve. As a cooperative, we relish being present, taking part in the events, fundraisers, and efforts that matter most to our members and our team. Our commitment goes beyond financial support, extending to volunteerism, education, in-kind contributions, and various other forms of assistance.
Here’s a look at how we gave back in 2024.
Supporting Local Events
Last year, we sponsored and participated in dozens of local community events, including festivals, arts performances, local sporting events, charity walks, parades, educational seminars, and more.
Across northeast Indiana, we supported hyper-local and regional organizations dedicated to improving the community. Events hosted by Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Indiana, and Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana allowed our team members to participate in and support several great causes. We sponsored fundraisers supporting the AppleTree Center, Erin’s House for Grieving Children, Mustard Seed Furniture Bank, and many others! We’re big fans of local sports and proudly continued our partnerships with the Fort Wayne Komets and TinCaps.
One of our favorite weekends in East Central Indiana was spent tasting delicious local cuisine during the Wayne County Chamber’s Flavor of Wayne County event. In the fall, we were grateful for the opportunity to walk and raise awareness and funds for the American Society for Suicide Prevention. We also supported multiple events through the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Town of Fortville, Girls Inc., Reid Health Foundation, Live in Liberty Concert Series, and the Hagerstown Little League.
Additionally, we were involved in supporting many non-profit arts organizations across the state, including the Fort Wayne Artist’s Guild, Fort Wayne Youtheatre, North Adams Arts Council, and Richmond Civic Theatre. Through our partnership with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, we spent some beautiful summer nights supporting their signature event, which raised nearly $100,000 to help support live professional music in East Central Indiana.
For the fourth year in a row, 3Rivers was the proud title sponsor of the Taste of the Arts Festival in downtown Fort Wayne. Over forty team members were on the ground, engaging festival-goers with exciting games and fun giveaways, creating wonderful memories for all! Organized by Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, this yearly celebration highlights the vibrant diversity of arts and cultural offerings across Northeast Indiana.
We completed our expansion into Central Indiana in 2023 and spent 2024 continuing to establish roots in Fortville, Pendleton, and Muncie. We’re excited to be branching out into these communities and taking part in many local events! We’ve enjoyed getting to know and support the Pendleton American Legion, Fortville Action Inc., Muncie Civic Theatre, Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library, Communities in Schools, Soup Kitchen of Muncie, and had a wonderful time taking part in Fortville’s annual Winterfest.
While supporting community events is a key part of our commitment to giving back, providing our communities with resources and education to better their personal and financial wellness is just as important to us. We partnered with BBB Serving Northern Indiana to host a free community shred day, the Red Cross to host an internal blood drive, and spent time in local schools and with local businesses to provide free financial education on a variety of topics.
Volunteering Our Time
In addition to financial support, our nearly 500 team members committed to volunteering their time and talent to a variety of causes, non-profit boards, and charitable events in 2024. Annually, we organize a company-wide Give Back Day, in addition to providing our staff with two paid volunteer days to support the causes they believe in. Our team surpassed expectations by dedicating countless hours to volunteer work beyond these paid opportunities throughout the year, actively contributing to various non-profits and causes they are passionate about. We take immense pride in their commitment!
During last year’s all-employee Give Back Day, which took place while our branches were closed for Columbus Day in October, over 300 team members spent their day off volunteering at over 30 non-profits in the communities we serve. We rolled up our sleeves to do all sorts of jobs, ranging from preparing for the Great Zoo Halloween at The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo to cleaning up our parks in Fort Wayne and Richmond, performing vital home repairs for residents with Habitat for Humanity to landscaping garden beds for the Richmond Rose Garden, cleaning up Bluffton Parks to organizing clothes and other donated items at local donation centers, and so much more. We also had some team members volunteering at Servants at Work Inc. helping to build a wooden wheelchair ramp for low-income, permanently disabled individuals. You can check out our team members in action as they help build the framework for a Habitat for Humanity home here!
Beyond Give Back Day, many team members went beyond using their paid volunteer time, forging enduring commitments to various causes. Some are deeply involved, serving on Boards or teaching regular Junior Achievement classes. Others consistently participate in events like United Way's Day of Caring and local parades, including the Kendallville Lantern Parade, Bluffton Street Fair, Hagerstown’s Jubilee Days, Angola Balloons Aloft, and St. Mary’s Summerfest.
Clearly our team is enthusiastic about active participation, and we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering increased community engagement among our team members. In 2024, we completed the fifth class of our Community LEADERS program. The program instills in team members the perspective and role of community trustees. We take a proactive approach to training participants, ensuring they become highly skilled community Board and committee members. Several graduates have already joined a variety of non-profit Boards, including Community in Schools, Kiwanis Club, Gigi’s Playhouse, Crossroads Community in Berne, and more!
Donating Our Dollars
In 2024, the 3Rivers Credit Union Foundation, which focuses on supporting three key initiatives: financial wellness, education, and health and wellness, invested $262,000 in non-profit programming to 91 organizations. Since its inception in 2015, we’ve invested over $2M in hundreds of non-profits in the communities we serve. It’s an honor to support organizations like GiveHear, Classroom Connections of East Central Indiana, The Dream Center, Every Child Can Read, Stillwater Hospice, and Communities in Schools of Wayne County just to name a few! We love learning about the countless non-profits that work tirelessly to improve the lives of people in our communities every day.
Additionally, we continued our ongoing corporate partnerships with The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, Boys and Girls Clubs of Wayne County and of Fort Wayne, Richmond Art Museum, and many others.
We’ve shared how generous our team members are with their time, but they’re equally giving in terms of donating, too! For our annual United Way Campaign, over 250 employees pledged more than $100,000 through contributions and matches. On top of that, 3Rivers donated an additional $3,500 to many regional United Ways in our multiple-county service area.
As we look back at 2024, we celebrate all those who work hard to make a difference in our communities. Every year, our inspiration grows as we witness non-profit organizations, community leaders and partners, and our team members dedicate their time, talents, and resources to significant causes.
As we celebrate our 90th anniversary in 2024, 3Rivers remains committed to empowering our members and communities through investing in their financial wellness and the people, places, and initiatives that matter most to them. This milestone reflects our dedication to building lasting relationships and making a meaningful impact in every aspect of life. We’re immensely grateful to embody the credit union philosophy of "people helping people" and anticipate making an even greater impact in 2025!
See all the ways we give back and get in touch with us by visiting our Community page!