Are you looking for something to get that "hard to buy for" person on your holiday list? Maybe Chanlyut’s Black Box Gift Set is just what you need.

Fresh Beginnings Premium Coffee Roasting Company
Price $80
Black Box Gift Set includes:

• Chanlyut “Press for Change” French Press
• 1 pound of locally roasted coffee beans*
• 1 $15 Gift card for the Mt. View Diner

*Locally roasted coffee was not roasted by Chanlyut Fresh Beginnings

All proceeds will assist Chanlyut in providing a community environment in which residents develop the skills they need to make meaningful changes in their lives while reentering society after incarceration. For more information, visit www.chanylut.com

To order your Press For Change gift basket, contact Ryan Gilbert at rgilbert@citci.org or (907) 793-3458.

This fall, Credit Union 1 employees will be hand-delivering Disaster Education kits to 25 middle schools throughout Alaska. These kits include lessons, activities, and demonstrations on disaster-related topics for teachers to incorporate into their daily programming! Through a longstanding partnership with the Red Cross of Alaska, our credit union is helping families prepare for emergency, to help build safe and healthy communities. For more information about our efforts in Alaskan schools and our work with the American Red Cross of Alaska, check out a recent Red Cross of Alaska press release:

Credit Union 1 Brings Disaster Preparedness to 25 Alaska Middle Schools
Longstanding Partnership with Red Cross Includes CU1 Staff Helping Out Anytime They’re Needed, says Red Cross

ANCHORAGE, September 16, 2010 — Credit Union 1 President and CEO Ms. Leslie Ellis is on a mission to improve the lives of her fellow Alaskans. For her, it all begins with our community’s youth.

“In addition to Credit Union 1’s financial services,” Ms. Ellis says, “we’re dedicated to community efforts that include a serious focus on youth and future leaders.”

Recently, leadership at Credit Union 1 approached the Alaska Red Cross with a desire to bring disaster preparedness to middle school students across the state. This fall, 25 middle schools in Anchorage, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Soldotna, Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Nome will each receive a comprehensive educational kit developed by American Red Cross.

On October 7, Credit Union 1 will be hosting “POUR” – a wine-tasting and silent auction event to benefit Bean’s Café and the Children’s Lunchbox. Festivities will include a live and silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, plus an assortment of wine, prizes, and a complimentary wine glass. This snazzy, fun-filled event will be hosted in the atrium of our Anchorage headquarters building at 1941 Abbott Road!

This year’s POUR event is a first for Credit Union 1, Bean’s Café, and the Children’s Lunchbox, although our credit union has helped host a similar “Beans and Jeans” event in the past. With POUR, we’re trying something new, classy, and exciting to help gather donations for two very important Anchorage causes. Beans Café provides meals, day shelter and support services for homeless people throughout our city, and the Children’s Lunchbox helps support families who may have difficulty providing food for their children.

In September 2008, the Children's Lunchbox launched a pilot program dubbed “Just a Little Extra,” to help children who rely on the free or reduced breakfast and lunch program at school but struggle to eat on the weekends. Just A Little Extra provides a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner (with enough food to last at least four meals) for children to take home every Friday.

Check out the attached newsletter (below) to learn more about Hospice of Anchorage and their efforts in our community! If you'd like to get involved with this organization as a volunteer, click here for more details.

As a special project this year, Credit Union 1 has partnered with the American Red Cross of Alaska to spread disaster awareness and preparedness throughout our State. Part of this commitment involves donating Disaster Education Kits to every middle school in our statewide branch communities! That’s 25 schools!

These kits will help educate and prepare students and their families in case of emergency. We’re proud to make this donation, because it has the potential to help SO MANY people! In September and October, Credit Union 1 employees will visit each of the middle schools we’re donating to, so we can meet a few teachers and introduce them to their new kits.

Later this year, we’ll also be working with other non-profits in our branch communities to develop disaster preparedness kits that will be housed at community centers. This special project was the brain-child of CU1’s Community Service Committee, and I’m excited to see how our initiative will help raise disaster awareness and readiness throughout our State. If you know of an organization in your community who would like to help create or house a disaster kit, please email oneforallalaska@cu1.org to join in our project!