Join us in supporting Ele's Place at the Ele's Race 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, July 23, 2022. The race will take place at Jackson National Life's Lansing campus on Okemos Rd. There is also the ability to run/walk at your own location and/or an alternate time to participate virtually!

This race is in support of Ele's Place, an organization aimed at raising awareness of and funding for grieving families in the Ann Arbor, Lansing, Greater Flint, Genesee County, and West Michigan communities. Ele's Place provides grief support groups to children, teens, young adults, and any adult who brings a child to a support group in the mid-Michigan area.

To register, donate, and view additional details, click here.

MSUFCU is proud to support Michigan Arbor Day Alliance (MADA), a coalition comprised of organizations dedicated to the celebration of Arbor Day throughout Michigan. Arbor Day takes place annually on the last Friday in April. MADA focuses on promoting Arbor Day to Michigan residents of all ages through tree plantings, contests, and more.

Earlier this year, MSUFCU helped promote Arbor Day with a tree seedling giveaway in the lobby of the Headquarters Building 1. In total, over 500 tree seedlings were given away to community members, varieties available included: white spruce tree, white pine tree, kentucky coffee tree, musclewood tree, and lilac tree. Individuals picking up a tree seedling were also provided directions for planting and best-care instructions.

In addition to the tree seedling giveaway, MSUFCU also helped coordinate MADA's Fifth Grade Arbor Day Poster Contest, a way for fifth graders statewide to learn about Arbor Day and express their creative skills for a chance to win a tree planting for their community! Be sure to follow MADA on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed of future opportunities and learn about trees!

Under its pillar of Arts and Culture, the Desk Drawer Fund is proud to sponsor Capital Area District Library's Summer Reading Challenge. This challenge encourages residents of all ages to read all summer long. The initiative allows people to beat the "summer slide," which is the loss of literacy skills for students who do not read while school is out.

"By encouraging families to read over the summer, we help children maintain their skills and develop life-long reading habits. Last year, more than 7,000 kids, teens, and adults participated in our Summer Reading Challenge, totaling over five million minutes read! It's wonderful knowing that MSUFCU's Desk Drawer Fund is partnering with CADL to support this important initiative," said Marisela Garza, Youth Services Specialist at Capital Area District Library.

The challenge is currently running through August 6. To learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge, please visit cadl.org.

Students in the Lansing School District have been working hard during the Lansing SAVE program this year. The Lansing SAVE program is a partnership between MSU Federal Credit Union, the Lansing School District, the City of Lansing, and South Central United Way. This initiative started eight years ago, when this group of partners came together to make an impact for the City of Lansing's youth.

The Lansing SAVE program gives students a Children's Savings Account with MSUFCU to help them save for post-secondary education. In addition to the Children's Savings Account, students are visited by MSUFCU's Financial Educators monthly to partake in a financial literacy lesson and have the opportunity to bring deposits to school to have placed into their savings account.

The program has a huge impact on the students in LSD schools. This year alone, the MSUFCU Financial Educators gave 886 classroom lessons, had 16,847 attendees, and spent 448 hours teaching in the classrooms. The principal from Reo Elementary, Jekeia Murphy shared, "Lansing SAVE provides real life expectations and experiences for our students which will have a long term impact on their future successes. I am proud to support this program."

MSUFCU is proud to have partnered with Juntos Avanzamos and received their designation for being a Hispanic-friendly credit union. Juntos-designated credit unions are committed to serving and educating Hispanic consumers by offering safe and affordable financial services. To celebrate this achievement, MSUFCU hosted a proclamation ceremony on June 22.

The proclamation ceremony began with opening remarks from Amanda Denney, MSUFCU Director of DEI; April Clobes, MSUFCU President/CEO; Ron Bacon, East Lansing Mayor; Elaine Hardy, East Lansing's Director of DEI; Andy Schor, Lansing Mayor; Luis Garcia, MSU MSS Director; Guillermo Lopez, Lansing School Board of Education; and Joe Garcia, Cristo Rey Community Center CEO, who spoke about MSUFCU's positive impact. All attendees enjoyed an afternoon filled with local Latine-cuisine and entertainment.

MSUFCU has a long history of serving the Hispanic community through uniquely tailored financial education programs, event sponsorships, and ITIN lending. MSUFCU is honored to be the largest university-based credit union to receive this designation and looks forward to expanding our outreach. The morning was filled with inspiring stories and an impactful message from keynote speaker and MSUFCU Chief Marketing Officer, Deidre Davis.