2021 LAFCU scholarship winners honored
GLENDALE, CA (July 19, 2021) — Los Angeles Federal Credit Union (LAFCU) recently awarded $10,000 in its 2021 Jack C. Mathews College Scholarship competition. The winners included four college students who are currently attending UCLA, John Hopkins, Mount Saint Mary’s, and the University of Pennsylvania, and one high school student, who plans on attending Occidental College. Each winner received a $2,000 check to pursue higher education in the fall of 2021. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, all recipients were honored during a Zoom video conference on June 14. Richard Lie, LAFCU’s President/CEO, presided over the meeting, with the LAFCU readers of the scholarship entries also in attendance.
Mr. Lie congratulated each scholarship winner and complimented them on their impressive essays and dedication to community service. The recipients were invited to introduce themselves and to share what they planned to do with their scholarship money. LAFCU has been offering scholarships for 12 years and has given out $90,000 to 75 deserving students and has awarded grants to teachers in past competitions as well. The competition is named after Jack C. Mathews, an esteemed public servant who worked for the City of Los Angeles for over 40 years and served as a volunteer on the credit union board for 34 years.
Applicants were evaluated on their academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, community service, and essays. Despite 2021 continuing to be a challenging year with social distancing and social learning protocols being implemented, LAFCU still received a record 96 scholarship entries!
Anyone who lives in most counties of Southern California can join LAFCU and take advantage of its financial services. For details, visit www.LAFCU.org, or call (877) MY LAFCU (695-2328), or visit a branch.
One of the winners of a Jack C. Mathews Scholarship for 2021 at Los Angeles Federal Credit Union, Maxine Reynoso, an educator pursuing a teaching credential, proudly displayed her scholarship check while wearing Mount Saint Mary’s University gear – the college she is currently attending.
About LAFCU (CA)
LAFCU was founded in 1936 by 13 Los Angeles City Employees to give fellow employees a safe, low-cost, and convenient source to borrow and save money during the height of the Great Depression. They gathered $65 to form the “Los Angeles City Employees Federal Credit Union.” In 1987, the name changed to Los Angeles Federal Credit Union to reflect a growing field of membership, which started to include immediate family members of City employees and individuals who lived in the same household as a current member. In 2006 LAFCU expanded its field again to include residents living in most counties of Southern California by establishing the Los Angeles Charitable Association, Inc. (LACA). LACA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity that donates and supports charities in the greater L.A. area that since 2006, has donated over $500,000 to those charities.
Now, 85 years after its initial deposit of $65, LAFCU manages $1.2 billion in assets, has 71,000 members, staffs seven branches, and its members can access a nationwide network of 30,000 CO-OP ATMs and 5,000 shared branches.
Anyone living in most counties of Southern California can join LAFCU and take advantage of its financial services. For details, visit www.LAFCU.org, call (877) MY LAFCU (695-2328), or visit a branch.
