On Monday, October 11, nearly 700 Teachers Credit Union (TCU) employees spread out to more than 45 different nonprofits across Indiana and southwestern Michigan to take part in the TCU annual Day of Giving and help those organizations complete important tasks around their facilities.
In Northwest Indiana, the Day of Giving saw TCU employees visit the Duneland Family YMCA, the Northwest Indiana Food Bank, TradeWinds, and Opportunity Enterprises- all organizations offering essential services around the community. Landscaping, sorting food, cleaning, organizing, and more were all a part of TCU’s activities. At Opportunity Enterprises, the TCU team constructed a shed for the residents of the nonprofit’s Lakeside Apartments.
“Our vision and mission are about people helping people,” said Christina Williams, vice president of loan operations for TCU. “That means more than financially. It means being out in our communities, giving back.”
Opportunity Enterprises is a nonprofit that works to help people with developmental disabilities live self-sufficient, full, and enriching lives. Its Lakeside facility offers several programs and resources, one of the most notable being an apartment complex that includes supported living for its clients. The TCU team spent the day building a shed to help store essentials for the building and its residents.
“We are just out of space,” said Alison Martin, development director at Opportunity Enterprises. “This will give us more room to store things that’ll help us keep our clients secure and safe.”
Monday’s Day of Giving was the first since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The TCU employees were excited to see the event return, including Jennifer Buck, a part of TCU’s vendor management team and a longtime employee.
“It’s always fun to hang out and make a difference with your co-workers,” Buck said. “There’s a reason that we call everyone at TCU a member and not a customer – they’re a part of the credit union, a part of the communities that we serve. This is just one way that we can give back.”
Martin, not content to sit back and watch, jumped in to help as the TCU team build the shed from the ground up.
“Anytime we have volunteers come out and help us, it means the world,” she said. “Our organization is just out of space. We have a facilities team - they’re small but mighty, and they’re working to take care of between 23 and 32 properties. So when someone like TCU comes out to take care of this, it gives our team the time to go and take care of other needs for the safety of our clients.”
As the shed began to take shape, Williams explained that to everyone lending a helping hand, the Day of Giving feels like an encapsulation of TCU’s values and mission.
“You feel a sense of pride when you spend a day working on a project like this and you get to see and hear how much it’ll impact the organization you’re helping,” she said. “It’s really exciting for us to do a bit to help them accomplish their goals and to get out in the community to learn about the various resources that are available. Even a small thing like putting a shed together can make a big difference for these organizations.”
To learn more about Teachers Credit Union, visit www.tcunet.com
