07 August 2015

(August 7, 2015) Central Valley, CA:  Honoring its member’s common bond of education, Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) has committed a $5,000 donation to The Salvation Army to assist under-served students around the Central Valley with backpacks and school supplies.  The Central Valley communities benefiting from EECU’s donation include Merced, Madera, Visalia, Hanford and Tulare.

“School supplies are a crucial part of success in the classroom and our goal is to ensure these kids start the school year off right and not at a disadvantage to their peers,” said Tricia Holt, representative for The Salvation Army in the Central Valley.  “Thanks to EECU, we can provide a greater quantity of higher quality supplies and help more children than originally planned.”

This time of year – back-to-school season – can be especially burdensome for low-income parents struggling to make ends meet.  A new report from the National Retail Federation reveals the average family will spend nearly $100/child to acquire basic school supplies ALONE and upwards of $600/child in total preparation, including clothes, shoes, and other homework helping gadgets.

EECU’s donation is just in time for the start of the school year, as back-to-school supply events are already underway (Visalia and Tulare events were completed last week). Upcoming distribution events include:

• August 7:  Hanford, CA (380 E Ivy Street) 559-582-4434
• August 10:  Madera, CA (1816 Howard Road) 559-681-1789
• August 11:  Merced, CA (1140 W. 12^th Street) 209-383-4225

The Salvation Army’s back-to-school events require pre-registration and sign-ups for Hanford and Merced are already full.  Contact the local Salvation Army location for sign-up details and distribution times.

About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to tsagoldenstate.org.  

About Educational Employees Credit Union
Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) was founded on April 21, 1934 as Fresno Teachers Credit Union, one of California's first credit unions. In November, 1981, the Board of Directors of Fresno Teachers Credit Union elected to change the name of the credit union to Educational Employees Credit Union to better describe the common bond of the membership served by the credit union.  Today, EECU is the 68th largest credit union in the U.S.  and the largest locally-based in the Central San Joaquin Valley.  EECU serves more than 239,000 members with 16 branches serving 10 counties.  For more information, visit www.myeecu.org.

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