Reflecting on Ten Years of our Community Difference Project

10-Year Recap of our Community Difference Project

Ten years ago, on December 11th, 2011, employees from Members First spent the day at the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen, providing meals to its patrons. A new excitement was born when our team came together for this community effort! On this day, we officially gave our philanthropic efforts a name: The Community Difference Project. The Community Difference Project's mission is to positively impact people's lives and provide support to those in need through random acts of kindness, volunteering, donations, and more. Ten years later, this is worth celebrating and reflecting on.

Celebrating 10 Years of our Community Difference Project

Our team members committed to a historic level of service to honor the 10th anniversary of our Community Difference Project. In 2022:

• nearly 150 of our team members dedicated time volunteering
• over 130 different organizations in Michigan were served between over 500 different initiatives
• a total of over 1,400 hours were spent volunteering in our local communities

Our favorite Community Difference Project initiatives in 2022 included giving out over $10,000 in gas gift cards to help with the rising prices of gas, paying for turkeys in our local grocery stores before the Thanksgiving holiday, joining together to raise funds and show support for Ukraine, fall family day celebrations at pumpkin patches in Beaverton and Hudsonville, and launching Little Free Libraries at each of the Members First Credit Union branches. Many of our team members and branches supported various organizations and causes through in-branch activities such as food drives, bake sales, giveaways, book drives, and more!

This level of commitment is possible because our organization embraces social impact, supports our local communities, and considers it a vital part of our strategic plan. This culture of volunteerism is not possible without the dedication and encouragement from our Board of Directors, our CEO, our leadership team, and of course, our members. Our teams are so thankful to feel supported in our care for our communities. All of these initiatives through the Community Difference Project would not be possible without the help and support of our local communities and the organizations within them striving to encourage a better tomorrow.

Looking Ahead to 2023

While the 10th official year of the Community Difference Project has ended, our commitment to our communities certainly is not. We can't wait to make 2023 our most impactful year yet! In the upcoming year, our credit union plans to display a primary focus of our efforts toward basic human needs.

The American credit union system was born out of the Great Depression, a time in history when people of low and moderate means needed a safe, trustworthy financial institution to help them through hard times. However, whatever economic conditions the upcoming year brings, our goal is to be a trustworthy partner for our members and communities. At Members First, we strive to be a financial institution that cares just as much as you do about our communities and neighbors and a place you can come to for empathetic, listening ears and quality knowledge.

Requesting Our Support

Are you a part of an organization looking for community partners or in need of funds or volunteers? We would love to hear from you. Learn more about our Community Different Project or submit a request for our help by clicking here!

Thank you for being a part of our Members First Community!