A group of leagues, chapters and individual credit unions in theWashington, D.C. area joined forces Jan. 11 to create credit unionawareness and encourage financial fitness at the NBC4 Health &Fitness Expo.

The MD|DC Credit Union Association, the Virginia Credit UnionLeague, the Credit Union Foundation of MD and DC, the NationalCredit Union Foundation, SavvyMoney and CUNA were among theorganizations that coordinated credit union participation in theevent, which was held in Washington Convention Center.

The credit unions partnered with SavvyMoney to bring consumerfinancial expert Jean Chatzky to the expo, as well as offer freefinancial checkups for attendees. Credit union staff workedwith consumers to complete the online financial assessments thatgave real-time evaluations of their financial health. On Saturday,Chatzky hosted a seminar on financial fitness where she talkedabout deciding between needs and wants, how to save for your futureand explained how your financial health affects your physicalhealth.

“When you are in great shape financially you are less worried,stress free and feel much better,” Chatzky said.

Hundreds of attendees completed the financial checkup and hadone-on-one time with Chatzky during her autograph signing of herbook, Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security,at the Dollars & Sense Credit Union Pavilion.

“Credit unions always put members' needs first and; thereforealign themselves with opportunities to promote financial securityto all consumers,” said MD|DC Credit Union AssociationPresident/CEO John Bratsakis. This joint effort shows the creditunion shared vision of promoting financial security to allconsumers and displays the power of collaboration. Being on-site tohelp so many people get their finances in check was a positive wayto get consumers on the right track to healthy, financialfreedom.”

The SavvyMoney Checkup is a financial assessment that has beendesigned especially for credit union members, which evaluates debtand expenses relative to one's income and offers suggestions tohelp improve their situation. Expo attendees had the opportunity totake the short assessment on-site to determine their financialhealth.