RALEIGH, NC (November 7, 2014) -- State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) members via the SECU Foundation announced their support on Thursday for The SECU Commons – a project being developed by the North Carolina Housing Foundation (NCHF) to help address the issue of homelessness in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. SECU Foundation’s assistance came in the form of a $1 million challenge grant that will help bring The SECU Commons’ 16-acre multi-use complex to completion. SECU Foundation Board Chair McKinley Wooten Jr. presented the check to NCHF’s Director of Operations Brian Hahne and current NCHF President Garry Merritt at a district-wide Credit Union Advisory Board meeting held in Winston-Salem. A formal recommendation for the project was made to SECU Foundation by the Advisory Board members of SECU’s Clemmons branch.
“On behalf of the North Carolina Housing Foundation, we are thrilled to receive this very generous gift from State Employees’ Credit Union members,” said Brian Hahne. “Your financial investment enables us to move forward to make The SECU Commons campus a reality in the Spring of 2015.”
With support from Forsyth County and the City of Winston-Salem, among others, The SECU Commons will deliver an integrated program aimed at serving three populations identified by NCHF as at-risk of becoming homeless – families with minor children, young people aging out of foster care and high functioning autistic young adults. With transitional housing, health care and social services, as well as an on-site job training campus, The SECU Commons will provide participating residents with the broad-based support to help them achieve employment, permanent housing and stability within their community.
Hahne continued, “We believe these three populations have a common need and share a common goal – the ability to shift from being net consumers of community services to net-contributors of community resources. Through The SECU Commons, we are creating a community environment equipped with the essential support services and a teaching campus that will focus on life skill development, training in executive functions, and career planning – all with the goal of program residents becoming sustainable citizens.”
Cindy Zimmerman, Advisory Board Chair from the Credit Union’s Clemmons branch attended the district meeting along with nearly 100 fellow member-volunteers in support of the project. She remarked, “I can think of no better way to help the homeless and at-risk families and young adults with special needs than by providing them with the means to overcome or avoid homelessness. The SECU Commons project is a wonderful example of ‘People Helping People,’ illustrating how we are working together to help those in need.”
About SECU and the SECU Foundation
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 77 years. With more than 1.9 million members, SECU provides services through 254 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org. The SECU Foundation, a 501c (3) charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare and human services.