From providing a micro loan to get a food truck up and runningto approving capital for a disabled member's rehabilitationstartup, credit unions continue to help small businesses.

Many of them, some owners have said, were flatly turned down byseveral banks.

Their stories continue to pour in but here are just a fewexamples of how credit unions have helped small businesses launchand expand. Some were even rescued from the brink of financialcollapse.

Here is a look at 11 of them.

Loving Care Adult Medical Daycare

When the $563 million National Institutes of Health FederalCredit Union in Rockville, Md., launched its business servicesprogram a few years ago, the cooperative was on a mission to tapinto its growing healthcare and biomedical field of membership. A NIHFCU business loan helped Afshin and Leila Abedi ofGaithersburg, Md., to launch the Loving Care Adult Medical Daycareearlier this year. The center provides medical, social,recreational, educational and rehabilitative services to disabledadults and seniors in Montgomery County.

Spud Brothers Food Services

Andrew Verge, owner and operator of Spud Brothers Food Services,said he didn't have many assets or own a home but he thought he hada great idea for his startup. Valley First, a division of FirstWest Credit Union in Penticton, British Columbia, thought so tooand approved a micro loan for Verge through the cooperative'sparticipation in the Remarkable Micro-Loan program.

Offered by 45 credit unions in British Columbia, young adultsages 18 to 29 are encouraged to share their business ideas andgoals. Those with the best ideas are rewarded with a micro-loan upto $5,000.

Verge said if it weren't for Valley First and the micro loan,he's not sure if he would still be in business.

“I have always liked the idea of doing something that no oneelse was doing, delivering food right there to the customer, at thebeach, at the park, or at the arena,” Verge said. “The micro-loanprogram, through Valley First, has provided the opportunity to dothat.”

In The Groove

Alice Brown turned an injury from a head-on car crash into aninnovative knee brace through her new company, In The Groove,thanks to the $675 million Wildfire Credit Union.

The Saginaw, Mich.-based cooperative approved a small businessloan after Brown struggled to get capital from other sources.

Brown designed a knee brace that aims to relieve pain whilerestoring normal movement. With the loan from Wildfire, she wasable to hire four full-time employees and one part-time employeefor her online company.

“Thanks to Wildfire's support, I've been given the opportunityto bring my knee brace to people who need it while creating jobsand contributing to the local economy,” Brown said. “Without thehelp and support from my credit union, I never would have been ableto see my idea through.”

Mink Chocolates

Facing cost overruns and construction delays, Mink Chocolateswas on the verge of closing down for good.

Faith Gibson said if it wasn't for Envision Financial, herchocolate shop, where the specialty is combining chocolate andcoffee beans, would not have gotten off the ground.

Envision Financial is a division of First West Credit Union inLangley, British Columbia.

“They believed in me, and they believed in my business; Icouldn't find that anywhere else,” Gibson explained. “Without theirsupport and step-by-step guidance I wouldn't be here today. Fastforward one year and it's so much better. I can honestly say thatEnvision Financial made my dream come true.”

Histo-Scientific Research Laboratories Inc.

Four loans to refinance two commercial properties, buy newequipment and expand from the $563 million National Institutes ofHealth Federal Credit Union in Rockville, Md., have helpedHisto-Scientific Research Laboratories Inc. since the companyformed in 1999.

The research lab provides histology, pathology and archiveservices to biotechnology firms, medical device and pharmaceuticalcompanies, contract research organizations, government interestsand university researchers.

DeSantis Construction Inc.

More than $1 million in loans from Affinity Federal Credit Unionin Basking Ridge, N.J., has helped the 15-year old DeSantisConstruction grow.

Started as a small residential paving firm, the Somerset,N.J.-based company has expanded into a full-service generalcontractor working on commercial and government projects andspecializing in milling, asphalt paving, storm drainage, concrete andcomplete site work.

Affinity Business Solutions, the business services department atthe $2 billion Affinity, has a relationship with the Small BusinessDevelopment Center at Raritan Valley Community College to hostsessions that appeal to established and budding entrepreneurs.

Free counseling is also available to those who have specificquestions about any direction they may need to go in to build theirbusinesses.

The SBA named Patrick McDermott, assistant vice president ofAffinity Business Solutions, its 2011 New Jersey Financial ServicesChampion of the Year.

Rolling Clean Car Wash

Right on the cusp of opening for business, Rolling Clean CarWash needed some working capital to get the operation off theground.

A $15,000 loan from the $11.6million North Side Community Federal Credit Union in Chicago helpedowners Kevin Morris and Denise Buckman-Morris with the startuprelief they needed.

The loan came via a partnership between North Side and theOffice of the City Treasurer's Small Business Development Fund.

At the time of approval, Buckman-Morris said the loan wouldenable the hiring of 10 full-time and 13 part-time employees andhelp with marketing salary and general operation costs and trainingat the car detailer based in Chicago's Austin community.

“This loan allowed us to get a great jump start on the businessand provide some cushion to fall back on. It's a great programbecause it helps start small businesses when they can't get helpelsewhere,” Buckman-Morris said.

Troy Elevator

A 2008 tornado nearly destroyed Troy Elevator, an 84-year oldBloomfield, Iowa, grain storage company.

Robert Newton, president of Troy, began working with his lenderat that time to restructure the company's long- and short-term debtin an effort to recover from the damages. However, in January 2009,the lender informed Newton it would no longer do business with thecompany.

The $398 million Community 1st Credit Union in Ottumwa, Iowa,stepped in to provide a guaranteed loan to Troy through theU.S.D.A. Rural Development Loan Program.

The credit union began working with the business in December2009. After receiving the loan in August of that year, Troy wasable to reorganize its operations and keep all 40 jobs in Iowa.

“We are so thankful to Community 1st Credit Union for steppingup to help us during our desperate time of need, especially whenbanks turned us away,” Newton said. “We were able to save ourbusiness and the jobs of our employees thanks to this creditunion.” QueenBee Beauty Supply

In 2010, the $62 million American Spirit Federal Credit Unionapproved the first SBA loan financed through a Delaware creditunion to Queen Bee Beauty Supply.

The $250,000 SBA 7(a) loan provided the New Castle, Del.-basedcredit union with a 90% SBA guarantee and saved the beauty supplybusiness $5,940 through an elimination of loan fees under theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the SBA'sDelaware District Office.

Eustace Kamanja, co-owner of Queen Bee Beauty Supply, said theloan has “helped changed our lives for the better.”

Bagel Factory

The owners of the Bagel Factory said were frustrated when Bankof America turned down their request for a loan to open theirbusiness.

Suzanne and John Hermann had established a successful trackrecord for their San Antonio bagel shop exceeding annual revenueprojections, employing a staff of 14 and securing contracts with amajor chain hotel and a local catering service.

The couple also had extensive experience having owned andoperated a bagel shop in Augusta, Ga., along with three smallcoffeehouses.

As it sought out financing for their new business, the Hermannssaid their longtime lender, USAA, did not offer business loans andBank of America rejected the couple but encouraged them to comeback when they were ready to open their second location.

The $5 billion Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union in Live Oak,Texas, was able to approve a $380,000 SBA Patriot Express loan forthe Hermanns.

“I was thinking, 'this is insane.' We have excellent creditscores, my husband is a physician, we own several properties. I wasdiscouraged and just ready to pack it in,” Hermann recalled at thetime. Jamiel's Shoe World

When the nation's economy started to take a turn for the worst,Jamiel's Shoe World, Rhode Island icon for 75 years, faced seriousdebt and a possible closure.

The store in Warren, R.I., was forced to close its Warwick storeafter a rent increase and debts piled up. More than a decade ago,Jamiel's secured a $600,000 SBA loan with Citizens Bank, a regionalfinancial institution it did business with for 30 years. The loanhad been paid down to $200,000, but the $5,000 monthly paymentswere becoming harder to pay in the midst of a recession.

“They flat out turned me down. They said the reason was becausewe lost money over the last two years,” Francis Jamiel said at thetime. “We've been in business for 72 years, we never missed apayment. I thought it was a no brainer.”

After being turned down by 10 banks, Jamiel found CoastwayCommunity Credit Union in Cranston, R.I., through a regionaleconomic development organization contact. The cooperative went onto approve a secure a $400,000 SBA loan for the shoe store.

Coastway has since become Coastway Community Bank.

“The moral of the story is the big banks lost out,” Jamiel said.“Little did I know that the big banks love you until you needsomething.”