RALEIGH, N.C./COLUMBIA, S.C.–Nearly 2,600 residents of North and South Carolina have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in benefits from credit unions that have improved lives and careers, according to the Carolinas CU League.
According to the league, those 2,600 people have shared in $6.4 million in financial help for “next-level knowledge and job skills through scholarships provided by the states’ not-for-profit credit unions,” according to the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation, SECU Foundation, and independent data reported to the league.
The CCUL reported some 850 university and community-college students will have an extra $2,500 on average to apply to 2022-23 school year expenses. Another 1,740 of North Carolinians including the unemployed, underemployed, military veterans, or National Guard are eligible for $500 awards to pursue marketable job skills via community college workforce development or continuing education programs, the league said.
Most are CU Members
The vast majority qualify for the scholarships based on their membership in a credit union or being in the immediate family of a member. Otherwise, recipients are diverse in their pursuits, backgrounds, and needs, the CCUL added.
“SECU Foundation established the People Helping People scholarship programs to assist students across North Carolina with their educational goals,” said Laura Culverhouse, director of program administration for the SECU Foundation, which has provided more than $76 million in scholarships since it began awarding them in 2005.
“Recipients are selected by committees in the states 115 Local Education Agencies (school districts) and 58 Community Colleges. A key focus in the selection process is the students volunteerism and service in their local community,” she continued. “The selection committees know the students who truly represent the People Helping People philosophy that is so important to our credit union,” Culverhouse adds.
Individual CUs
The league noted a few credit unions in each state manage their own scholarships, and 18 others—12 in North Carolina and six in South Carolina—work through the Carolinas Foundation to provide aid for local students.
The Carolinas Foundation also recently finalized $509,200 for 261 students heading into the fall semester, pushing total scholarships it has supported to 1,442 since 2016.
“We are proud to assist our members working towards a college or university degree, and last year we increased our award amounts to help recipients supplement the rising costs associated with higher education,” said Corey Brickers, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communication at Charlotte-based Carolinas Telco Federal Credit Union. “We believe in empowering our members with the tools and resources needed to reach their goals.”