The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions’ annual fundraising events raised over $370,000 in 2009. Of that amount, $363,000 was donated to the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, while the rest was sent to several other local nonprofit organizations.

In September, the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions held an auction party and Kids Classic® golf tournament, raising $188,000, which qualified it for an additional $25,000 from CO-OP’s Miracle Match program. And in June, participating chapter credit unions held a raffle raising $150,000 for the hospital, bringing the total to $363,000.

On November 7th, ACCU held its first Annual Bowling Tournament to raise funds for the Capital Area Food Bank. ACCU’s total monetary donation to CAFB was $2,250 along with canned food and other nonperishable items donated by participants. The Bowling Tournament took the place of ACCU’s annual canned food drive; the organization plans on making the Bowling Tournament a yearly event.

At the 2010 planning session held in early December, the ACCU Board of Directors selected 5 local nonprofit organizations to receive $2,000 each: Austin Children’s Museum, Austin Sunshine Camps, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, SafePlace, and Texas Baptist Children’s Home.

The Chapter believes in uniting Austin area credit unions to better serve the community and to promote and improve financial literacy in central Texas.

Come join us on October 15th for the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions Vendor Expo and Casino Night! Click here for more information on one of the best nights the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions has to offer.

We ran across an interesting website from our Credit Union colleagues in Virginia. Check it out:

www.whatifcreditunions.com

The Kids Classic Auction Party and Golf Tournament dates have been announced.

Click Here for more information, and stay tuned for more updates.

Help us defeat hunger, one strike at a time.

The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions Bowling Tournament

Please be aware of a phishing scam. Several credit union members have been contacted by a company called Prize Center. They are telling the members that they won prizes from the Children’s Hospital raffle. This is not the case. The Prize Center is leaving a return phone number of 866-343-5166 and the man’s name is Jim. The members are being told they won prizes that weren’t even a prize option, such as a Lincoln Navigator. This company is also asking the members to provide personal information.

All of the prize winners were contacted by the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions on the day of the raffle, June 3rd, and have arranged times to pick up their prizes. The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions would not ask for personal information to redeem prizes.

This scam has been reported to the Consumer Protection Agency of the Office of the Attorney General.

Please make your members aware of this scam.

On behalf of all of the Austin-area Credit Unions, the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions would like to announce that we have raised $150,000 this year for the Dell Children’s Medical Center! We can’t express enough how amazing this amount is, especially during our troubled economic times. The Credit Unions themselves raised $149,788.28 one dollar at a time, with Benefits Unlimited donating the difference.

The winners of the prizes are:

2009 Pontiac G5
Stephen W. from United Heritage Credit Union

2 American Airlines Tickets
Chester O. from University Federal Credit Union

42” Samsung HDTV
Dorothy L. from Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union

A big thanks goes out to everyone – for the Credit Unions who raised the money and to the people who donated towards our goal. Others that we wanted to thank specifically are:

Nyle Maxwell from Nyle Maxwell Pontiac GMC for donating the Grand Prize Pontiac G5
Juan Portillo from Tramex Travel for donating the 2 American Airlines tickets
Mark Hail from Benefits Unlimited for donating the Third Place prize of the 42” Samsung HDTV and the extra donation to bring us up to a clean $150,000!

The Children’s Miracle Network fundraiser is now in full swing! We can’t thank our member Credit Unions enough with helping us achieve our donation goals.

However we are all aware of our increasingly bitter economy and wonder if there are other ways to help. One of those ways is through food.

People who receive chemotherapy for cancer often report a “metallic” taste in foods. For someone recovering from this disease (or any ailment), proper nutrition is vital and and this “metallic” taste quickly makes all food unappetizing. There is a way, however, to eat healthy while still pleasing the taste buds. It’s a good thing we know Gary Novosel whose website, The Food Medic, is dedicated to helping people with disease and illness eat healthier. Ranging from Alzeimer’s to Women’s Needs, one of Gary’s recipes is bound to satisfy.

Check out his recipes here: www.foodmedic.com

The TCUL Golf Tourney is right around the corner; have you signed up? More information can be found by clicking here.

The Austin Chapter of Credit Unions would like to recognize the following nominees for the upcoming board election which will take place at the November chapter meeting.

President – Kelly Atkinson, UFCU
Vice-President – Marie Spencer, A+FCU
Treasurer – Marlo Major, GTFCU
Secretary – Sam McDougall, UFCU
Program Chair – Jill McNabb, TruWest
Vendor/PR Coord – Vacant
TCULPAC Rep – Mary Gray, A+FCU
Training Rep – Alexis Michael, UFCU
CU for Kids Rep – Debbie Lewis, RBFCU & Brandy Logan, GTFCU
Technical Coord – John Le, Amplify FCU