PHOENIX — The Valley of the Sun YMCA and Arizona Federal arepartnering for financial literacy.

The credit union will exclusively provide financial educationand services to the Valley of the Sun YMCAs. The partnership isdesigned to deliver affordable financial services and financialeducation directly to the heart of the communities served.

“Financial responsibility and independence, derived throughsound financial education and convenient access to low-costfinancial services, helps to further the cause of strong families,a key tenet of the YMCA mission,” said Arizona FederalPresident/CEO Ronald Westadl. “This partnership was forged inresponse to a great social need: the need for financial education.Arizona Federal is proud to partner with the YMCA to help deliverthese critical financial skills to the community.”

Currently, the Valley of the Sun YMCA operates 16 locationsacross metropolitan Phoenix, while Arizona Federal has 23 Phoenixarea branches. The organizations have over 285,000 members and223,000 members respectively.

“This new partnership is in-step with our mission of buildingstrong kids, strong families, and strong communities,” said Valleyof the Sun YMCA CEO Greg O'Brien.

Under the terms of the new agreement, the first Arizona FederalYMCA Branch will open inside the currently under-constructionMaryvale Family YMCA in early 2008.