I want to tell you a story about "Harry" and my extraordinary team at my new credit union. Harry is one of our members and today is his 62nd birthday. Recently Harry stopped coming in for his daily cup of coffee. Concerned, the staff checked in on him and found him overwhelmed by life. As background information, Harry lives in a small one bedroom apartment, survives on $300 a month after he pays his rent and had a $250 electric bill to pay. As you can imagine, this is just not economically feasible. My very generous team selflessly circled the wagons and split his electric bill to keep his lights on last Friday. I was so proud of their generosity and kindness. They're such an amazing group of people and I'm so glad to have every one of them on my staff.

For his 62nd birthday today my staff blessed Harry beyond measure. They provided him with enough food to last weeks, cleaning supplies, dishes, pots and pans, cleaners, a small amount of cash … the list goes on and on. Harry could only say "thank you" and "this is my best birthday ever." I could only be amazed at the genuine care for others my team exhibited and be grateful for a group of employees who embrace the true credit union mission.

This story isn't unique to Texas People FCU, although the fact that this credit union only has $22 million in assets makes it all the more impressive. Having worked at credit unions, I know there's rarely enough time in a day to get all the daily tasks done, much less find the time to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Which begs the question: Should credit unions devote scarce resources to helping people without expecting anything in return? Where does service end and charity begin?

Thanks to regulation and technology, financial services have become a commodity. Other than a few basis points on a loan or a buck or two in fees, there's little difference between the products and services offered at a credit union and those consumers can get from a bank.

That means service and structure are the only things that separate the two institutions. The structure part is easy, but what does service mean?

As financial services providers, credit unions are in a unique position to notice when someone within the cooperative needs a helping hand. Sometimes credit unions can help by waiving a fee or taking a risk on a loan, underwriting be damned.

But in Harry's case, there was no product or service that could help him pay his electric bill. There was no financial benefit for the credit union if they helped him, but Texas People did it anyway.

Reed's Facebook post was clear: The credit union did not help Harry to gain new members or Facebook likes, but because Texas People employees are decent human beings who care about others.

However, the credit union did benefit.

Helping Harry was good for the community. It meant one less homeless person on the streets of Fort Worth. It provided employees with more job satisfaction than they could get from processing all their daily work by 5 p.m.

It also showed all those consumers on Facebook that even if charity isn't officially part of the credit union motto, people who work at credit unions have different values than those who produce profit for shareholders.

There is room for charity at credit unions because people helping people is the only thing left that sets our community apart from other financial services providers.

I can't think of a better definition of service than going above and beyond the call of duty for a member of your cooperative.

It's a wonderful thing for credit unions, America and humanity.

If you'd like to help Harry, visit Reed's GoFund.