LIVONIA, Mich.–The 1st Annual Share the Love Campaign wrapped up with a big celebration. The branch lobby of United Bay Community Credit Union in Bay City, Mich. was overflowing with credit union employees, members, volunteers and supporters who gathered to celebrate as United Bay Community Credit Union and CU Solutions Group presented the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor with a $15,000 grand prize donation.
When all was said and done, more than 426,000 votes were cast amongst the 132 credit union videos representing 35 states. Some $105,000 was donated to charities through the nine credit union winners who each received $10,000 for their charity of choice and United Bay Community Credit Union who received an additional $15,000 for their charity by garnering the most overall votes and winning the grand prize. An additional $15,000 in gift cards was given to the consumer voting audience.
Lisa Mahler, CEO of United Bay Community Credit Union, was thrilled to see the impact their video had in their community. “Just that 90-second blip was so phenomenal because it really helped share the true passion that our credit union has for helping the community and helping people that we work with. It shows the true essence of our credit union and that we are ‘people helping people’; which is truly what we were established for,” said Mahler.
United Bay Community Credit Union’s determination to help the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor was evident with their participation in the Share the Love Campaign where they rallied with their employees, members and community to get the 36,622 votes needed to win not once, but twice!
Nicole Zollinger, Chief Development Officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor, was incredibly grateful to have their charity chosen by United Bay Community Credit Union. “The $25,000 gift to us means the world. It is a very significant gift for the charity of our size. For us, it means getting close to finishing a major renovation campaign of our 30-year-old main house,” said Zollinger.
Monetary donations made a significant impact for the charities, but the spirit of Share the Love had a life of its own. “It really energized our entire house and entire family. It was unlike anything we’ve seen before. You really felt the love of our entire charity, this family, this community that we aren’t even physically part of and it was really magical,” said Zollinger.
CU Solutions Group and Love My Credit Union Rewards created the campaign to showcase what credit unions do best – help their members and communities. “Credit unions do amazing work and seeing it come to life through videos, and reach new audiences across the nation, is an achievement by itself. Add charity donations and consumer awards and you have an initiative with the ability to make a real impact. We are incredibly thankful to the members, credit unions, leagues and system partners who made this campaign such a tremendous success,” said Dave Adams, CEO of CU Solutions Group.
Planning for the 2nd Annual Share the Love Campaign is already underway. “We have received wonderful feedback from credit unions to help make this year’s campaign bigger and better. We can’t wait to announce more details in June at the MCUL/CU Solutions Group Annual Convention in Detroit” said Lisa Rizk, Senior Vice President at CU Solutions Group.