Have you heard? Mountain View’s annual Community Clean-up starts May 5th. Tomorrow night, let’s go get dirty and help clean-up an Anchorage neighborhood. Check out the attachment for the full skinny on when and where!

After several weekends of cleaning-up around my own house, I feel like an expert in this area – so in preparation for your aid in Mountain View’s trash-be-gone efforts, here are my words of wisdom:

1. Carpe Diem: Seize the day. The weather’s nice this time of year, and picking up trash is a great way to enjoy the sunshine, get some exercise, and help your neighbors in need.
2. Don’t Let the Cat Get Your Tongue: Join the One for All clean-up crew, and make a few new friends while tidying the town! There’s no need to be shy, since people you meet at a trash clean-up are clearly good-hearted folk. Just in time for spring, it’s time to diversify your friend portfolio. 
3. The Show’s Not Over ‘til the Fat Lady Sings: This is no dietary comment. My point is, Mountain View’s neighborhood clean-up is sure to be a fun, hard-work PARTY! With cool people and a great cause, you’ll find entertainment – sans opera music (score). 
4. Love Your Neighbor as You Love Yourself: On Saturday, I came home after an afternoon of shopping to find MY neighbors finishing a trash pick-up along our street. What an awesome surprise! Now I’m going to pay this forward in Mountain View, and here’s hoping the chain continues.
5. Make Hay While the Sun Shines: I can’t predict the weather tomorrow, but I can predict this: The Mountain View clean-up is a sunshiny opportunity for social progress. The more effort we put in to keeping this neighborhood clean, the more pride its residents will take in maintaining it. Come “make hay” and produce positive change in our city.

WOW! I could keep going with my treasure chest of corny sayings, but instead I’ll hope you appreciate their meaningful messages and come join the One for All team tomorrow night. The clean-up starts at 7:30am, but our CU1 employee crew will be out there at 6:30pm (after work). Our meeting hot-spot is in the back (south) lot of Success By 6, at the Intersections of Mountain View and Commercial Drive. See you there!

Hey OneforAllers!

Friday, April 30 is the YWCA’s national “Stand Against Racism” day. Please help Credit Union 1 spread awareness for this important cause by clicking here or checking out the attached "Pledge Against Racism" below. Then, come pick up a "Stand Against Racism" sticker or bookmark at CU1's Abbott Branch on Friday.

As always, thanks for your support!

Check out this guest blog from CU1’s Executive Vice President, Lisa Monsen! Lisa serves on the Board for Hospice of Anchorage, and last weekend she helped coordinate a crew of credit union volunteers to aid the Hospice’s annual fundraising benefit. I like how she gave an individual shout-out to each CU1 employee involved. It’s great to be recognized for above-and-beyond effort – and for an 8am (or earlier) start on Saturday morning!

Thanks! To Volunteers for Hospice

My thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with the annual dinner/auction for Hospice of Anchorage this past Saturday. It is their main fundraising event for the year, and as a Hospice Board member, I know firsthand, what a tremendous difference Credit Union 1 has made for this small organization. We had 30 credit union employees, who spent over 100 hours combined, to help make the event a success.

Rebecca Sparks and Maria Quick headed up the check-in/check-out work again this year, and also took on the monitoring/closing of the silent auction tables for the first time. They had help from Christina Diaz, Manuela Fraser and her son Ben, Amanda Barbash, Mary Rudzinski and Susann Hicks. Rebecca also brought her niece and friend to help out.

Donna LaPella headed up the Hotel arrangements and room decorations for the first time. She spent many hours making all the arrangements and got Paul Younger, Terra Nelson and Gerri Tokar-Hines from Administrative Services to help with some of the advance preparation work. She had a large crew for set up - Megan Proctor, Savanhnary Vongthongdy, Sylvette Perez, Brooke Johnson, Jessica Repovsch, Glynn Carter, Scott Butterworth, Gerri Tokar-Hines, Lorraine Bennett, Maria Delgado, Terra Nelson, Paul Younger, Michelle McLaughlin, Cassie Trammell, Jennifer Lutz, Tracy Breimo and Yvonne Mueller. And, she had a crew that came in late that evening and helped with the take down – Pauline Moevao, Margaret Faletagoai, Chanise Russell and Domonique Dubose. Susann also stayed to help after she finished up her part of the check in/check out.

I have heard and read several very nice comments from other Board members and Hospice staff regarding the great job of the Credit Union 1 employees.

Here’s an example:

I'm STILL amazed with the speed that the Credit Union 1 people decorated the ballroom!!!!! It looked wonderful. And the efficiency of the people helping with the auction, check-in/check-out etc was great. Kudos to all of you! You could start a business on the side! Your volunteers are invaluable to us!!!!

- Linda McCarthy Beckworth, Board Secretary, Hospice of Anchorage

And one more example:

Donna LaPella, your wonderful work with the decorations and keeping us within budget is very, very appreciated. The support of the Credit Union 1 crews was amazing at set-up, check-in/check-out and clean-up. This was the smoothest running Dinner/Auction event ever! Several people mentioned to me how elegant and sophisticated the room looked. The lights on the silent auction tables were perfect and the lighting on the stage was great [donated by CU1].

- Donna Stephens, Executive Director, Hospice of Anchorage

I had a couple of people at the event ask me what Hospice was all about. Information is available on their website – www.hospiceofanchorage.org Thanks again to everyone who helped out. You all truly made a difference in the success of this fundraising event.

Lisa

Interested in helping at a community volunteer event? Check out the One for All event calendar!

Guess what! Ms. Leslie Ellis, President and CEO of Credit Union 1, is in the running for National Credit Union Hero of the Year!

In 2009, Leslie was recognized as a CU Hero of the Quarter by Credit Union Magazine. She’s now one of only four candidates who could be crowned Hero of the Year in 2010. At CU1, we’re super amped-up for her to win – and here are five big reasons that you should be excited as well:

1. Leslie’s accomplishments at Credit Union 1 include a special lending department for people with rocky credit histories. If you’ve had financial trouble in the past, she’s made sure that CU1 can help you get a fresh start and a second chance. That’s pretty sweet.
2. Our credit union is crazy about community service – and that’s because we’ve followed Leslie’s lead and passion for helping people. She is extremely active in loads of local non-profit and community organizations (i.e. the revitalization of Mountain View in Anchorage), and when CU1 volunteers head out to get our hands dirty on a project, she’s right there with us. 
3. Thanks to Leslie’s focus on education, her employees have taught over 2500 financial education and career advancement classes throughout our State. Our credit union has a President who truly cares about improving peoples’ lives. How many banks can say that?
4. Leslie knows all her employees’ names, and she hand delivers our HQ paychecks to get to know us better. That’s a big show of care and consideration, and it’s greatly appreciated. She lets her 250+ Alaskan employees know that we really matter!
5. Leslie’s not faking it. She is sincerely committed to inspiring positive change in Alaskans lives. How can you tell? Her employees evangelize about her behind her back. Shhhh =).

It’d be awesome if you cast your vote in the CU Hero of the Year competition. Our CU1 President deserves the recognition, and our entire State can be proud to see a leader like her earn recognition on a national level.

I’m no cook. As a child, my mom let her kids “creatively design” their meals – although she kept tabs on us by stocking the house with only healthy ingredients.  The result? A gaggle of children who thought Saltine crackers and melted cheese was a prize appetizer, scrambled eggs and mustard was a king’s meal, and a good stick of rhubarb (with salt) topped the tree for desert. 

Surprisingly, we’re all healthy, fit adults. I don’t know how this happened!

Lately, I’ve tried to fill a meal-shaped void in my life by learning how to cook. Things aren’t going so well. I messed up Tuna Helper the other day…. Yes, I know this doesn’t quite qualify as a cooked meal, but as you may know, it contains more than two ingredients – and that’s a step in the right direction. Nonetheless, I burned it to the bottom of our Dutch oven. In retrospect, that’s probably not what I should have been cooking it in.

The worst part of this situation? I LOVE to eat. Love it! But no matter how closely I watch Julia Child trim a chicken, I can’t concoct a palatable, square meal from scratch. Clearly, I have lots to learn before adding “self-sufficient” to my life-skills resume.  Until then, good thing I have a husband whose momma taught him right. He’s a fantastic cooking coach!

The number of families in Alaska who have trouble feeding their families has grown tremendously this year. Anchorage’s Bean’s Café is under pressure, with more mouths to feed than ever before. A few weeks ago, the Café requested donations of canned vegetables to help them serve healthy meals to those in need – and Credit Union 1 donated a van full of peas and corn to help out. Since the statewide need is still present, we’re brainstorming additional ways to help.

CU1 Secret Talent: Our employees are great-idea generating gurus! Jessica R. from our Branch Operations department came up with a rockin’ fundraiser project. We’re going to create an employee cookbook! Jess’ excellent idea is to collect recipes from our employees throughout Alaska, and then compile them in one book that we could sell for donations to Beans Café. Way to go, Jess! I’m excited to get to work on this project, even if I won’t be contributing a recipe of my own (…though I’ll sure be buying a copy).

In the meantime, if you’d like to send us a recipe or two to bulk up our book, you can email them to oneforallalaska@cu1.org. The more recipes the better! As always, you can also make charitable contributions to places like Beans Café by logging in to CU1’s OnLine Access and transferring Rewards points to this cause.  Alaskan families appreciate your support!

When you sit down to dinner tonight, take a moment to reflect. Whether it’s burnt Tuna Helper or a five star meal, we should all be grateful for food on our plates.

P.S. Tonight I'm tackling Alfredo. Wish me luck!

Credit Union 1 is hosting a Create-a-Card contest! To join in, simply submit your original design, photo, or artwork to oneforallalaska@cu1.org and become famous if your entry is chosen as a stock design for our new Visa® Create-a-Cards. Three top winners will receive $250-$1000, plus a free Create-a-Card. Full contest rules are attached to this blog, so please be sure to check them out!

This contest isn't as directly related to social service as our usual One for All topics, but from the entries we've received thus far, I'm noticing TONS of Alaskan pride. Showing pride in your community can work wonders toward inspiring others to care too!

Check out our growing contest album here.  

It’s Wednesday, and that should definitely mean you’re getting a head start on weekend plans. Me too! My house is full of family visiting from Maryland, so if the warm weather sticks, I plan to play tour guide and go enjoy Talkeetna, Girdwood, or somewhere of the like.

Speaking of your favorite two days of the week – last weekend, a group of Credit Union 1 employees made great plans to help out at the “From Alaska with Love” fundraiser held at the Northway Mall in Anchorage! This fundraiser benefitted victims of the earthquake in Haiti and Officer Jason Allen who was recently shot in Anchorage.

That being said, today’s blog is a GUEST BLOG! A few of our lovely volunteers from the weekend have contributed their thoughts on how the fundraiser went. I hope you’ll be interested, inspired, or encouraged by their positive remarks to volunteer at an event of your very own! Check it out:

“I had an absolute blast. …Kudos to the organizers, the community and the volunteers.” – Bev Morrell, CU1 Abbott Branch Manager

“The “From Alaska With Love” event gave Alaskans a chance to see the enormous talent our youth have, and that the littlest amount of support encourages them to continue to strive to better themselves and stay out of trouble. The donations for the fundraiser came pouring in, whether it was through the $1 raffle, $1 bingo, or the silent auction, or even just random people coming by to make their contributions. It was very touching to see that Alaskans can come together to support the cause, whatever it may be. This time, the donations went to Haiti and Officer Allen. It was expressed numerous times the amount of thanks to everyone that attended and contributed to their fundraising efforts. The host of the event (Kim Mendez) became emotional because she was so touched by the turnout and that she, along with the rest of us, were trying to make a difference. And no matter how much money we raised, or how many people showed up, we all made a difference.” – Brandi Avery, CU1 Records Clerk

“The event turned out to be really entertaining. I thought it was really cool how numerous people came to our table to just donate money or they would purchase raffle tickets and give them away to other people that were there. It was also nice to see the variety of local talent that we have in Anchorage. It was nice to see how supportive people were who came to the event.” – Nina Zamarov, CU1 Consumer Loan Processor

Ahhhh…. Isn’t that great to hear! Seems to me that if you’re looking for an easy way to feel good about yourself, you life, and your community, social service is a great way to go.

It’s a new One for All year, and as always, we’ve got big plans. OneforallAlaska.org will soon be seeing new contests, events, and ideas for YOU to inspire positive change in your Alaskan community. As you wait in eager anticipation for new things to come, I’d like to reflect a bit on how the One for All project is going so far.

In 2009, we gave over 1050 hours of volunteer service throughout the State. In addition, Credit Union 1 members raised nearly $46,000 for local charities. Wow!

Last week, the One for All page on Facebook cleared 200 fans – and we have just as many users on this website (and counting). Thank you!

Hiding amidst my event and blog postings, there is an increasing number of One for All user comments. Likewise on Facebook, our fans are making their voices heard. I LOVE this! Comments and criticisms alike, it’s great to know that when y’all need to tell us something, you can and do.

Speaking of user comments, I’ve seen quite a few financial reflections on this website lately as well. That’s cool! The One for All mantra is social service and financial education, so we can definitely chat about money, the economy, whatever you’d like to know. However, several of the comments I’ve seen this month are posted in areas of the site that other users may not notice – so I have an idea! Soon, there will be a new topic under the “Resources” section in the right hand column ----> titled “Let’s Talk Money!” We can chat about whatever finance topics you’d like here – and if you’ve got extra tough questions, I have a team of CU1 finance geniuses who will jump in and help out.

Meanwhile, please don’t hesitate to toss in your two cents about anything in this blog as well. I’d like to know what you’re thinking, start a conversation, burn up our keyboards with fresh ideas… you get the picture. Don’t be shy!

P.S. Have you played the new Match ‘Em game over there yet? ---> It’s fun, and goats tap dance at the end. Double whammy!

Check out this email forward from our friend Trevor Storrs with the Alaskan Aids Assistance Association. This message is from an unknown Alaskan author, and it’s definitely worth passing along. When you sign up for your PFD this year, please remember to Pick.Click.Give!

"This may surprise you.  Did you know that here, in one of the most abundant states in the Union, there are 85,000 Alaskans who don’t know where their next meal will come from, 3,800 children suffering from abuse or neglect, and the average age of our homeless is nine years old?

Alaskans who file for their Permanent Fund Dividend online are now able to give all or part to qualifying nonprofit organizations. With Pick.Click.Give., one person can start a movement. If we all work together, we can make significant change in our state.

Last year Pick. Click. Give. raised $545,000 from 5,100 Alaskans, making it the second largest fundraising effort in Alaska. This year, we want to double this success.

Be part of the movement. Commit to give part of your dividend to at least one organization this year ($25 minimum).  If each filer gives just $25, together we can raise $15 million.

See this year’s Pick. Click. Give. video on YouTube and be part of the movement. And pass it on."

Happy Holidays! 

When I was a little kid, procuring a Christmas tree didn’t seem that difficult. My parents simply piled their three little girls into the back of our rusty, lime-green suburban (I think it was a left-over from the Wisconsin forestry department?), and rumbled off into the forest. The perfect Christmas tree would be waiting within easy walking distance of the road, and I didn’t even have to help pull it back through the snow! Things aren’t so easy now that I’m grown.

Last weekend, Dan and I made our first attempt at a Christmas tree. We found a beautiful tree (and not just in the Charlie Brown sense), and we loaded it into the pick-up with ease. But…Dan forgot to tie it down. Yes, I say Dan forgot, because tying down the tree is not in my wife-ly job duties - just like picking up socks is apparently not in his job description, as you recall =). The tree flew out of our truck bed barely two miles from the vendor’s stand. And then our trailer ran over it. It didn’t survive.

We had killed a tree! I felt horrible. So horrible, in fact, that for tree #2 (the same day – I wasn’t giving up yet) I picked a less-beautiful tree, as if I was slightly undeserving of a regal pine now that I’d killed one of their brethren. Tree #2 made it home, thanks to some sturdy twine, and we decorated it that evening. It was gorgeous! A few glittery bulbs can do a lot for balding branches. Unfortunately, my two devil cats found the Christmas bulbs just as attractive, and when they leapt into the tree to explore, the tree toppled over, took out my coffee table, and broke its neck. Tree #2, down.

Tree #3, taken straight from the forest, has thus far survived. We picked it quickly, without much discretion, yesterday evening. On our way back down the long, twisty, backroad, I was surprised by how deeply we’d wandered into no-man’s-land. It had seemed like such a short jaunt in – but it was taking forever to get out! We rounded one more turn and - AH! - almost skidded into a rusty, red suburban stuck in snow. Inside, an older man and his wife were trying to dial out on their cell phones, catching only static. Dan was happy to swing his truck around and tow the couple out of their predicament. They breathlessly wished us happy holidays, gave up their own search for a tree, and headed back toward civilization.  

In the end, I was frustrated and worn out by my Christmas tree search. My parents weren’t here to do the dirty work (though they’d just laugh if I asked them now!), and we got pretty beat up for our efforts. But last night, while relaxing on our saggy old couch with hot chocolate and leftover stir-fry, I basked in the glow of our Christmas tree lights.  We had helped somebody out of a jam, thanks to tree excursion #3. If we hadn’t been driving down the road just then, that couple could have had a very dangerous night. As I sipped my cocoa and pondered whether there are any true coincidences in life, my realtor stopped by to deliver some holiday rum cake. Karma or a blessing, coming back around.