ST. JOSEPH, MI (May 17, 2013) United Federal Credit Union (UFCU) joins former Secretary of State Colin Powell, CBS newsman Bob Schieffer, and other national dignitaries to deliver an award-winning democracy program to educate youth in southwest Michigan about the U.S. Constitution, encouraging them to become active participants in the democratic process.
The program, created by the Committee for Citizen Awareness (CCA) and sponsored by UFCU, involved two major components: an educational DVD and an interactive website.
The first component was an educational DVD about the U.S. Constitution featuring Constitution scholar Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of President John Kennedy; Michigan Congressman Fred Upton; and UFCU President/CEO Gary Easterling. This award-winning DVD “We the People…The U.S. Constitution and You” was distributed at no cost to all high schools, community colleges, and public libraries in the 6th Congressional District of Michigan. This video program is frequently used by teachers during celebrations of Constitution Day on September 17.
The second component was citizenawareness.org, an interactive website with a youth opinion poll of the month, developed in consultation with George Gallup, Jr. The website provides young citizens with a source for information about their representatives and government. In addition to the monthly opinion poll, the site contains trivia and quizzes about the U.S. government, as well as information about how students can contact their Congressional representatives.
“At United Federal Credit Union, we believe it is important that our nation’s youth know their constitutional rights and understand how our government functions so they can become actively engaged,” stated Easterling. “This is a great program for our community.”
About CCA
The Committee for Citizen Awareness is a 25-year-old, non-partisan, civic awareness organization devoted to educating young Americans about their government and encouraging them to embrace their civic responsibilities as citizens of our nation.
About UFCU
United Federal Credit Union has served its Members since 1949 by helping them to build a sound financial future. UFCU consists of more than 118,000 Member/owners worldwide, and manages assets in excess of $1.5 billion. Its corporate offices and main branch are located in St. Joseph, Mich., with additional branches in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio.