What Does "Social Responsibility" Mean To Me?

This morning I was asked to attend a meeting with the Social Responsibility Committee here at MSCU. One thing that struck me was that the focus of this meeting was fundraising. Not only was it the focus of this meeting, but every meeting, all the time. Let me give you some examples of things we have done for our Ending Hunger in Maine campaign this year:

-Sold Holiday CD's

-Sold Candles

-Spring, summer, and fall raffles

-The Annual Walk to End Hunger

Now, between all these fundraising efforts we raised $30,000 to help local food pantries and shelters. That's great and it helped thousands of people, but social responsibility to me is more than gathering money for a cause. I feel like there needs to be a shift in the way we interact and associate with our community.

It isn't enough to sit inside and collect money, we need to reach out and impact the world we live in. The Walk to End Hunger is one of the only events in the state that actually encourages community involvement and participation. Guess what, it has been a huge success, raising over $10,000 for ending hunger annually for the past couple of years. There are people out there that enjoy doing volunteer work, people who care about the people around them and their quality of life. I feel that if Credit Unions are going to stay competitive with banks we need to reach out and affect the places we serve in a more visible and interactive way.

Here in Augusta, people have started to realize that, "hey we need to do something about this place, we could make it so much better than it is". Most of the talk is in the newspaper. The city has been calling in advisors and committees to figure out a way to revitalize the area, but there isn't a way for local people to easily get involved in the cause. I am currently working on ways to engage MSCU in this effort. If your community is in this mode, take advantage, let your CU be the one to say "I can do that" and get people out there working to improve life in your community.

What are some ways you've engaged the community around your credit union?