United Teletech Financial Federal Credit Union, Tinton Falls,N.J., had employees, family and members participate in Clean OceanAction's Annual Fall Beach Sweep at Sandy Hook. A total of 325volunteers picked up over 10,000 pieces of litter from the beaches.Volunteers also completed datacards, which were reviewed andentered in a computer database analyzed by COA. Data collected fromthe beach cleanups is used to identify and monitor pollutiontrends. The information helps find solutions to keep New Jerseybeaches clean and healthy for citizens and marine life. Synergy OneFederal Credit Union, Manassas, Va., recently had 60 employeesparticipate in the Prince William County Annual America's Walk forDiabetes. Together the Synergy One FCU All Stars team raised atotal of $36,753.82 making Synergy One the number one fundraisingteam in the Greater Prince William area. During the walk otherSynergy One FCU employees handed out goodies and give-away items.Ent Federal Credit Union, Colorado Springs, Colo., donated $5,000to the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region for the education andprevention of childhood obesity. Proceeds and pledge donations fromthe Ent Community 5K Fitness Challenge, a 5K event held in Americathe Beautiful Park, supported the donation. The funds will be usedby the YMCA for "Kid Fit" and Family Fitness programs at localfacilities. Mutual Savings Credit Union, Birmingham, Ala., was acorporate sponsor for the 2006 March of Dimes' Blue Jeans forBabies Day. Blue Jeans for Babies is a fun way for people to helpsave babies born too small and too soon. By making a donation toMarch of Dimes, Mutual Savings CU employees were able to come towork in casual work attire. During the week leading up to BlueJeans for Babies Day, Mutual Savings CU sold March of Dimescut-outs to its members at all 10 of their branch locations. Over800 cut-outs were sold in four days. Through sponsorship of theevent, community support and generous employees, the CU was able todonate over $2,500 to the March of Dimes. VyStar Credit Union,Jacksonville, Fla., donated over 600 refurbished computers toNortheast Florida students who completed Congresswoman CorrineBrown's Community Book Club Reading Initiative. To become eligibleto receive a computer, participating students had to achieve thespecial initiative goals which were to read at least 25 books andsubmit a book report for each book read. Diamond Credit Union,Pottstown, Pa., raised over $32,000 for the Pottstown Relay forLife, which benefits the American Cancer Society. Diamond'sdonation ranked 13th in the state as the largest fundraisingdonation from a relay team. Pottstown in turn was awarded thesecond highest fundraising site for the American Cancer Society'sRelay for Life in the state of Pennsylvania. In total, the townraised over $688,000, which the American Cancer Society uses forresearch, treatment and family support. Patelco Credit Union, SanFrancisco, mobilized 300 employees from its 37 northern Californiabranches and its Deerfield, Ill.-branch for a day of service in SanFrancisco. Volunteers gathered at the Argent Hotel for a kick-offcelebration and afterwards fanned out to eight community serviceproject locations across the San Francisco Bay Area. Projectsincluded food sorting, painting fences, sprucing up parks,assembling gift baskets, beach clean-up and maintenance. CaliforniaCredit Union, Glendale, Calif., presented $1,000 to the 6th AnnualLos Angeles County Parent Volunteer of the Year. The Parent of theYear winner, Patty Scripter, was chosen by a panel of judges,including CCU's Chief Marketing Officer Ron Stratman. Scripter hasoffered to donate half of her award money to the PTA. The ParentVolunteer of the Year award honors parent volunteers for theirinvaluable and tireless contributions to public schools. Thenominees were selected for exceptional achievement and leadershipservice from local PTA or PTSA districts. Scripter has donated morethan 20 years of volunteer service to PTA District No. 1. AffinityFederal Credit Union, Basking Ridge, N.J., organized "TeamAffinity", comprised of two groups of credit union employees andmembers, who participated in the American Diabetes Association'sannual event, America's Walk for Diabetes. The group raised $1,775.Clearview Federal Credit Union, Moon Township, Pa., continued itseffort to increase awareness of the importance of blood donation byhosting its annual fall blood drive at its Pittsburgh Branchoffice. A total of 23 units of blood were collected and donated tothe Pittsburgh Central Blood Bank. Robins Federal Credit Union,Warner Robins, Ga., recently gave $5,000 in Base Exchange giftcards and over 400 holiday cards to the 21st Century Partnershipand the Band of the Air Force Reserve to distribute to Robins AirForce Base deployed troops in support of their "Operation SeasonsGreetings" annual morale boosting tour. In addition, the CUcollected over 40 boxes of supplies in its "Operation Support OurTroops" holiday outreach program. Items such as: prepackaged food,personal care items and entertainment items will be shipped to RAFBdeployed troops. The local Air Force Association Chapter hasgenerously volunteered to help cover some of the postage expenses.Northrop Grumman employees collected seven boxes of supplies aswell. South Florida Educational Federal Credit Union, Miami,awarded 15 graduating seniors a Florida Prepaid CollegeScholarship. With the escalating costs of a secondary education,today's value for a four-year scholarship can exceed $40,000. Sincethe program's inception, South Florida Educational FCU has awarded159 scholarships. Cal State 9 Credit Union, Concord, Calif.,donated $26,729 to the Oakland Unified School District recently tosupport programs in four key areas: School Libraries; EarlyLiteracy; After School Tutoring; and College Readiness. The OaklandUnified School District serves approximately 49,000 students at 111schools. MidWest Financial Credit Union, Ann Arbor, Mich., joinedUMHS Financial for the Shoes That Fit program, providing 102children in the area with new shoes. In additional to askingmembers for donations, the CU partnered with the University ofMichigan Health System to make the program a success. Silver StateSchools Credit Union, Las Vegas, recently had employees participatein the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against BreastCancer walk. A premier event since 1993, ACS's Making StridesAgainst Breast Cancer strives to raise awareness and dollars tofight breast cancer. SSSCU employees raised over $800 in donationsElla DeGrace, branch officer at the Legion Parkway office of HarborOne Credit Union, Brockton, Mass., recently awarded a $250 Stop& Shop gift card to Nora Heuston. The prize was part of a majoradvertising campaign promoting new checking accounts. For any newchecking account opened with either direct deposit or online billpayment the customer received a $50 gift card. In addition, theywere offered a $25 gift card for referrals resulting in newchecking accounts. Nora Heuston was the 2nd winner of a $250 giftcard as part of a drawing that accompanied the promotion. VisionsFederal Credit Union, Endicott, N.Y., along with GPO Federal CreditUnion, New Hartford, N.Y., recently partnered to support theircommunities. With the assistance of the USDA, these two creditunions are financing a large sports dome for a nonprofit groupcalled Rising Stars Soccer Club. The new facility will provide astate of the art soccer complex for over 300 children, plus havethe ability to host numerous community events.