SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- A record number of 64 credit unions and partnering organizations, including more than 2,300 employees, volunteered 10,000+ hours on CU Forward Day on Oct. 11, affecting more than 540,000 people all over the state.
Now in its 5th year, CU Forward Day is a Minnesota state-wide initiative held annually on the second Monday in October.
“Credit unions employees, members and partners come together to do one simple thing – spread kindness,” the Minnesota CU Network reported. “Navigating the ongoing pandemic, many credit unions opted to participate with smaller group sizes and outdoor activities, however, the goal of coming together as an industry to give back throughout Minnesota remained consistent.”
“CU Forward Day exemplifies the people “helping people philosophy” with volunteers across Minnesota spending one day to give back to their communities in big and small ways,” said Mark Cummins, president and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network, the state’s trade association for credit unions.
The Projects
According to the MnCUN, examples of service projects for the day included:
- Volunteering and fundraising for local nonprofits like Second Harvest, Feed My Starving Children, United Way, Adopt a Hiway, Human Society, and many more
- Packing meals and food drives to address hunger in locations across Minnesota
- Park and yard cleanup projects
- Document shred days and flu shot clinics
- Virtual examples include employees making tie blankets at home or purchasing items from a non-profit’s Amazon Wish List
- Many simply performing random acts of kindness in their communities like buying coffee for strangers, grocery shopping or handing out gas cards
History of Day
The Minnesota Network noted that in 2013, Saint Paul-based Affinity Plus FCU hosted its first organization-wide “Plus It Forward Day.”
“A play on Pay it Forward concept grew out of an employee-driven idea of what it meant to be a part of the community, to give back and how credit unions could randomly spread kindness,” the association said. “In a response to the growing cooperative nature of the event, the Minnesota Credit Union Network assumed the coordination of credit union participation, tracking and media efforts going forward under the umbrella name CU Forward Day starting in 2017.”