DENVER– Westerra Credit Union has awarded 47 grants to extremely valuable and worthwhile causes during what has been a unique school year. Westerra is honored to support local schools in helping students obtain academic and personal success.
Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on schools, Westerra said it made the important decision to award a second wave of school support. The Westerra Credit Union School Grant Program strives to enhance students’ learning experiences by providing monetary awards for items like art supplies, sports fees and equipment, after school programs, workbooks or other programs teachers and schools determine most beneficial.
“Our goal is to always take a deep look at each application and decide how resources will create the greatest impact for students and schools,” said Manager of Marketing and Public Relations Dana Russell. “We want to fill gaps where teachers would have otherwise used their own funds.”
Westerra began the grant program over a decade ago as a nod to its roots — the credit union was formed by eight school teachers who pooled their funds in 1934 to make loans to other teachers in need. Supporting education has always been in Westerra’s DNA. Since the inception of The School Grant Program, Westerra has given over $500,000 in grants to more than 1000 Denver metro area school programs.
“We’re really proud of the causes we’ve supported, especially coming out of 2020 where schools were met with unforeseeable challenges. It’s within Westerra’s core to enhance educational opportunities for our students — the grant program is a tradition we intend to keep as an important community outreach,” Russell said.