COOPERATING PRINCIPLES

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STORY COMPILED BY CANDICE MCKINLEY

Left: Charlie Lovering, VP of Operations, and Jodi Lewis, Jesup Branch Manager, representing Marshland Credit Union; Janice Phillips, Tabitha’s Place founder; Staci Branch, President/ CEO, and Teresa Pittman, Business Development, representing Interstate Credit Union; Cheryl Spires, President/CEO, and Stephen Harvell, VP of Finance, representing Altamaha Federal Credit Union.

“Alone, we can do little; together, we can do so much.” — Helen Keller

this summer, Altamaha Federal Credit Union (AFCU), Interstate Federal Credit Union (IFCU), and Marshland Federal Credit Union (MFCU) of Jesup came together to donate $6,000.00 to help build a bathhouse at Tabitha’s Place, a nonprofit food kitchen that serves over 45,000 plates annually.

The idea was sparked when Tabitha’s Place founder, Janice Phillips, spoke at an area Kiwanis Club meeting about the need to provide a bathhouse for the area’s homeless. AFCU’s Vice President of Finance Stephen Harvell was at that meeting, along with Supervisory Chair Bob Fox. Afterward, they discussed the idea with AFCU President, Cheryl Spires. Altamaha Federal Credit Union President Cheryl Spires said, “As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, it is important that we uphold the cooperative principles, including the principles of ‘cooperatives working with other cooperatives’ and ‘concern for community.’ AFCU is proud to have pulled together two other local credit unions to make a major impact on Wayne County’s Tabitha’s Place.”

“Stephen mentioned that he would like to see AFCU pitch in to help but knew that the price tag might be too large for us to go alone,” said Cheryl. “Bob mentioned that it would be nice to have the help of the other local credit unions.”

Cheryl agreed and wasted no time in talking with Interstate Credit Union’s President Stacie Branch and Marshland Credit Union’s President Jeff Holcomb to get them on board. “This project was a great way to showcase the good we can do when we, as credit unions, work together. More importantly, it provides a much-needed resource for those in our area who are homeless,” explained Jeff.

“We are always looking for ways to help the communities in which we serve,” said Stacie. “I was very excited when Cheryl called with the proposal of our local credit unions coming together to help Tabitha’s Place. We at Interstate Credit Union take our responsibility of being a good community partner seriously, and to be able to support a nonprofit that serves some of the most vulnerable residents felt like a win-win for all involved.”

Marshland’s Marketing Manager Chelsey McNicoll coordinated the check presentation of $6,000, representing a contribution of $2,000.00 from each credit union, which was presented to Janice Phillips on July 15 at Tabitha’s Place.

Tabitha’s Place will be working on remodeling the house to provide even more to those in need. “As we continue to expand, contributions are greatly appreciated,” Janice said. For more information about volunteer opportunities, call (912) 256-2113.

Together, Wayne County’s three credit unions showed what is possible when we embrace our cooperative spirit and show concern for our community. |WM