MIDDLETOWN, PA (March 6, 2013) – Since its debut last fall, Rekindle has been growing steadily through the middle-Atlantic states. Now, the initiative has emerged as an instrument to reawaken credit unions’ passion for collaboration – and for restarting the economic engine that founded the cooperative movement.
More than a year in the making, Rekindle springs from a core group of leading credit unions in Pennsylvania, interested in working together to solve problems. Following a founding meeting convened by Belco Community Credit Union in Harrisburg, PA, Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union assumed a leadership role in order to develop a scalable collaboration framework for the middle-Atlantic states.
“Essentially, Rekindle provides credit unions with a structure and method to find solutions to common problems,” said Jay Murray, President/CEO of Mid-Atlantic Corporate. “Nearly everyone we speak with sees value in collaboration. What Rekindle has taught us over the past year is that collaboration –for real impact – requires a great deal of hard work.”
Murray says tough decisions, a methodical approach, and time are needed to develop trust and cohesion among the participating credit unions.
“Whether it’s driving down redundant system costs or sharing staff expertise, our movement has always been at its best when we collaborate. And today – with a growing regulatory burden, ever-thinner margins and fierce competition from the banking sector – it’s past time to reignite the cooperation that made our movement strong,” he said.
To build on its momentum, Rekindle is launching a website and releasing the second in a series of animated short films.
“The website is an early step in fostering a lively online community to complement our growing network of in-person Rekindle regional ‘cell’ groups. It’s in these cell meetings that the heavy lifting is taking place,” Murray continued. “It’s no easy task to turn big ideas into actionable plans, but we are working on it and the new website will help facilitate that process.”
The Rekindle website is designed to enhance the collaboration framework. Hosted by Ongoing Operations, a Maryland CUSO that offers cloud-computing, and data backup and recovery solutions, the site will be used to build community, house the Rekindle video library, and keep credit unions that are still in the information-gathering stage updated on the progress of Rekindle developments.
“The Story Continues,” a second animated short about Rekindle, highlights the case for the rebirth of cooperation among credit unions, going deeper into a conversation about bloated back-office expenses. To visit the Rekindle website and view the new video, visit www.rekindlecu.org.
About Rekindle
Led by Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union, Rekindle was started by a small group of credit unions to be the engine for collaborative and back-office innovation. Rekindle was the brainchild of Lonny Maurer, President/CEO of Belco Community Credit Union of Harrisburg, Pa., a lifelong supporter of collaboration among all credit unions, large and small. Today, the energy behind the Rekindle initiative to reclaim the movement demonstrates that credit unions are stronger together than apart, and the cooperative principles that formed Mid-Atlantic Corporate Federal Credit Union are strategic to the future of the credit union industry. Rekindle is a source of credit union collaboration, for scale, strength, growth and community impact in the mid-Atlantic region. For more information about Rekindle, visit www.rekindlecu.org