Credit/Desert Financial
For children whose medical conditions require them to spend lots of time in the hospital, school absences are the norm. But for kids receiving care at Phoenix Children's Hospital, the school comes to them, thanks to nearly $11 million in funding over 27 years from Desert Financial Credit Union.
The $8.7 billion, Phoenix-based Desert Financial announced Thursday that its charitable arm, Desert Financial Foundation, made its largest donation ever to the hospital school program – $1.15 million – to extend access to all Phoenix Children's campuses and patients. In 2021, the hospital announced that in addition to its existing 61 facilities across central and southeast Arizona, it would be opening a new campus in Glendale, located about nine miles from Phoenix.
The program, called 1 Darn Cool School, is fully funded by Desert Financial, having received a total of $10.95 million from the credit union, Desert Financial Foundation, and credit union members and employees.
Desert Financial Foundation also announced a commitment to raising another $5 million for 1 Darn Cool School over the next five years.
"As a credit union founded by schoolteachers, education is at the heart of everything we do," Desert Financial President/CEO Jeff Meshey stated. "After learning about Phoenix Children's new campus, we knew we needed to help 1 Darn Cool School follow suit and expand its services to children across The Valley."
From left to right: Desert Financial CEO Jeff Meshey with 1 Darn Cool School students Nicholas and Amauri. (Credit/Desert Financial) 1 Darn Cool School is a fully accredited K-12 school with eight full-time master's level teachers, according to Desert Financial. In 2023, it provided 2,000 children who were hospitalized for five days or longer with a traditional classroom setting or bedside instruction to help continue their schoolwork as they fought illnesses and injuries.
"The 1 Darn Cool School is about more than making sure kids don't fall behind in math and reading – it provides a feeling of normalcy for kids coping with difficult medical diagnoses," Tim Harrison, vice president of corporate sponsorship for Phoenix Children's, said. "Contributions from Desert Financial are the lifeblood of this program that gives children in our community hope for a future beyond the walls of their hospital room."
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
