SANTA ROSA, Calif.–Marking an all-time high, more than 2,200 local residents took action to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by shredding old financial records and other paperwork at Redwood Credit Union’s (RCU’s) free annual Shred-a-Thon, held at its administrative offices.
Sixty-two RCU volunteers and several trucks from Shred-IT were on-site at the event to help the community safely dispose of and recycle approximately 71,800 lbs. of documents. Twenty-three people attended a free seminar at the event on ways to prevent fraud and identity theft.
Additionally, Conservation Corps of the North Bay collected 13,200 lbs. of e-waste on site at the event, including old TVs, printers, monitors, computers, and other personal electronics for secure recycling.
“Shredding sensitive documents—such as old financial statements and bills—is one of the best precautions people can take against identity theft,” said Matt Martin, senior vice president of community and government relations at RCU. “We were happy to once again provide this service to our community.”
Redwood Empire Food Bank was also on site at the event and collected $5,581 in monetary contributions and 350 pounds of food donated by attendees. These donations are estimated to help provide over 11,579 meals for those in need, another all-time high, the credit union said.