WASHINGTON – Three credit union CEOs stressed that collaborationis key to successfully reaching out to low income communitiesduring an afternoon break-out session at CUNA's GovernmentalAffairs Conference Tuesday afternoon.

Paul Phillips, president/CEO of the $315 million FreedomFirst Credit Union of Roanoke, Va., Kathy Geary, president/CEOof the $155 million HEWFederal Credit Union of Alexandria, Va. and Patsy VanOuwerkerk, president/CEO of the $2.1 billion Travis CreditUnion of Vacaville, Calif., sat on a panel that was moderatedby Gigi Hyland, executive director of the National Credit UnionFoundation.

Phillips described how Freedom First cooperated with localnon-profit organizations to put a credit union branch in a buildingthe organizations would share in the most economically depressedpart of the community.

'This is a place without any grocery stores,” Phillips said. “Nobank branches – they all failed or left. No large employers. Highand visible crime. Numerous building code violations. In short, notthe sort of place you would put a credit union branch, but that iswhat we are doing.”

Phillips said the new branch would offer financial products andservices in a way community leaders hoped would help spur economicdevelopment and support the provision of social services in the oneshared location.

Geary described how her credit union collaborated with localorganizations to bring several different financial educationprograms and services, such as tax preparation sites underthe IRS' Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program, intoWashington-area public schools, public housing developments andcommunity centers.

Geary described how particularly effective Reality Fairs hadbeen in the schools. In Reality Fairs, students simulate real worldfinancial conditions to learn in a controlled environment how muchthings cost in the real world, and why they needed to save moneyand learn to better use credit.

Van Ouwerkerk described how Travis used a similar program,called Mad City Money, to perform similarly guided financialeducation programs to make similar points with high school studentsthere.

In each instance, the CEOs stressed that the credit union hadbeen able to have a far greater impact on their communities becausethey had collaborated with other organizations already working inthose communities.

Hyland praised all their efforts, noting that each represented awillingness to think creatively and cooperate on new products andservices or presenting familiar products and services in a newcontext.

“Some of you might know that I am a foodie, I like food and Ilike to cook,” Hyland said. She described the idea of having acredit union take a table at farmers market to both sign up newmembers, and also offer member business loans to vendors, who areassumed entrepreneurs.