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CUNA Announces Winners of the 2011 Desjardins Awards for Financial Education

Contacts:
Mark Wolff – CUNA Communications; (202) 508-6764; mwolff@cuna.coop
Amy Nigrelli – CUNA Marketing; (608) 231-4246; anigrelli@cuna.coop

MADISON, Wis. (November 21, 2011) – CUNA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Desjardins Awards for Youth and Adult Financial Education.  Entries from more than 30 states yielded 10 winners, along with several honorable mentions, in two categories.  All of these organizations will be recognized during a reception at CUNA’s 2012 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), March 18-22, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

The Desjardins Awards are named for Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement, and honors credit unions for their commitment to youth and adult financial literacy.

“We congratulate this year’s winners and honorable mentions for their admirable work educating youth and adults about financial education skills,” says Vikki Kinsler, CUNA’s program coordinator for the Desjardins Awards.  “Credit unions, chapters and leagues from more than 30 states applied for the award, which shows the movement’s increasing commitment to this type of service for members.”

CUNA added the Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award in 2011 to its well-established Youth Award to recognize credit unions’ efforts to teach personal finance concepts and skills to members and non-members age 18 and older.  This change brings all personal finance education activities under the Desjardins name, including the award for leagues.  CUNA received 30 entries in the Adult category in addition to the 55 entries received for the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award.

“Part of the mission of credit unions is to promote thrift among our members,” says Bill Cheney, President and CEO of CUNA.  “Financial education is a key component of accomplishing this mission–it’s good for the members and differentiates credit unions from other financial institutions.”

Recipients were recently chosen from among the state-winning entries by CUNA’s national awards committee.

Winners for the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award include (asterisks indicate repeat winners):

  • A+ Federal Credit Union – Austin, TX*
  • Community Credit Union – Lewiston, ME
  • CORE Federal Credit Union – East Syracuse, NY
  • Credit Union Association of New York*
  • Service 1st Federal Credit Union – Danville, PA

Honorable mentions include:

  • Altra Federal Credit Union – Onalaska, WI*
  • Arapahoe Credit Union – Centennial, CO*
  • Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union – Virginia Beach, VA*
  • Greater Minnesota Credit Union – Mora, MN*
  • Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union – Knoxville, TN
  • Maine Credit Union League*
  • Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union – Columbia, SC*
  • Public Service Credit Union – Romulus, MI
  • Virginia Educators Credit Union – Newport News, VA*

Winners for the Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award include:

  • CommunityAmerica Credit Union – Kansas City, MO
  • Community Credit Union – Lewiston, ME
  • Financial Fitness Greater Austin Credit Union Facilitators – Austin, TX
  • Greater Minnesota Credit Union – Mora, MN*
  • Latino Community Credit Union – Durham, NC

Honorable mentions include:

  • Credit Union 1 – Anchorage, AK*
  • Denver Community Credit Union – Denver, CO*
  • Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union – Columbia, SC*
  • Patelco Credit Union – Pleasanton, CA
  • Tinker Federal Credit Union – Oklahoma City, OK*

In December, PDFs of the winning entries will be available for viewing on CUNA’s website. The actual winning entries will be on display at CUNA’s 2012 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), March 18-22, 2012, in Washington, D.C. All winners and honorable mentions will be recognized during a March 21 reception at the conference.

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About CUNA:

With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) serves 90 percent of America’s 7,400 state and federally chartered credit unions, which are owned by nearly 93 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives providing affordable financial services to people from all walks of life.  For more information about CUNA, visit www.cuna.org or the CUNAverse blog and follow @CUNAverse on Twitter.  For more information about credit unions, visit www.aSmarterChoice.org and follow @asmarterchoice on Twitter.

 

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