JACKSON, Mich.–American 1 CU recently teamed with the local Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to turn traffic stops into holiday memories.
Sheriff’s deputies here who pulled over drivers in early December did not give out tickets, but instead distributed Christmas gifts purchased by the credit union.
The CU and patrolmen handed out gifts to more than 25 people over two days. The effort, explained Kristina Edgar, vice president, marketing and communications, netted the credit union a great deal of social media chatter, even though she said that was not the number-one goal.
“We do something every holiday season to give back to the community,” said Edgar. “Thanks to this year’s effort we got a lot of local press and social media attention, which spread our message of caring throughout the community—which appreciated what we did. The best part of all this was how much our staff bought into this and became very proud of what we accomplished.”
Staff Play Santa
Staff played a big role in pulling off the gift giving. When sheriff’s deputies pulled over drivers during traffic stops near the E. Michigan Ave. and Airport Road Meijer stores, the officer would chat with the driver and get some information regarding the driver’s Christmas list.
“I was in the back of the police cruiser and I would eavesdrop on the conversation, hear what the person wanted for Christmas, and call our team of employees inside the nearby Meijer store who would then buy the gift,” said Edgar. “Meijer cashiers helped us speed through checkout.”
Staff would hand over the item to another police officer who drove the gift to the site of the traffic stop.
“I would hop out of the cruiser and the police officer and I would give the person their gift,” said Edgar.
Drivers were pulled over for actual minor traffic violations, like driving slightly above the speed limit or having tinted windows that were too dark. No tickets were handed out, and the person was detained for about 20 to 25 minutes on average.
Edgar said emotions at times ran high from those who received the gifts—none of which was the result of being upset by the traffic stop, which Edgar said was managed very well by the officers.
“I know a few people said they were not going to be able to afford gifts for their family this year, and were actually crying in their cars” said Edgar. “There was one lady who said she couldn’t afford toys for her kids, so when we handed over a bunch of Lego kits she jumped onto my arms and hugged me. It felt amazing to be able to help these people out.”
$5,000 In Gifts
Overall, the $280-million credit union spent about $5,000 on the gifts, which averaged around $300, said Edgar. Gift items, which Edgar said “were all over the board,” included video game consoles, big screen TVs, and iPads.
“If the person really did not want to talk about their Christmas list, we gave them a $100 Meijer gift card,” said Edgar.
Earlier this year American 1 approached the Sherriff’s Office with the idea, having seen a police department in another city doing something similar. While the CU prefers to change up their holiday giveback every year, based on this year’s success, American 1 is reconsidering that policy.
“This had such a huge impact on the community that I am certain will consider doing it again next year,” said Edgar.