Meriwest Credit Union Delivers Personal Finance Workshops at San José Public Libraries Across The City

Contact:                                                          
Greg Meyer
Meriwest Credit Union
Community Relations Manager
Direct Line: 408-365-6328                                                      
gmeyer@meriwest.com

SAN JOSE, CA – May 26, 2011– Meriwest Credit Union announced today it will provide a series of personal finance workshops for San José Public Library customers in June. The purpose of the workshops is to expand the community’s knowledge in regard to credit issues, identity theft, and financing a small business. The three Credit Myths and Repair workshops will focus on basic issues surrounding managing credit and accessing our credit reports for free. There will be three Identity Theft workshops that will provide local residents with tips on how to stay safe when using their debit and credit cards, managing sensitive documents, and how to avoid being a target of internet hackers. Towards the end of the month there will be two Access to Capital workshops for small business owners. “Access to Capital” is a comprehensive presentation on what financial institutions are looking for when underwriting small business loans and what entrepreneurs can do to improve their chances of approval of their loan request. The workshops will be presented by staff from Meriwest Credit Union.

These workshops provide necessary information that everyone should have available to them. Often, families in our community have little knowledge about credit and identity theft and rely on myth and hearsay to make decisions. These workshops will provide the critical information families need to help guide them to a better credit score, provide safety for their personal identity, and finance their small businesses.

“Many American families are struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which reinforces the need for reliable and useful information to help them make good financial choices,” said Leslie Tanaka of the San José Public Library System. “Helping people better understand how to manage their finances, borrow wisely and how to protect their personal identity are the important things we can do to improve the well-being of families in our community.”

“There can hardly be a better time to make the case for economic and financial literacy than right now. We believe that a major line of defense in consumer protection is self-defense–in other words, a well-informed consumer,” said Gregory Meyer, Community Relations Manager for Meriwest Credit Union. “This partnership with the San José Public Library System allows a greater number of community members to understand credit and defend themselves against those who would steal their identities.”

Here is the schedule of workshops for June 2011:

Date	Time	Library Site	Subject
June 1, 2011	6:30 PM	West Valley	Credit Myths
June 7, 2011	6:30 PM	Willow Glen	ID Theft
June 10, 2011	3:00 PM	Vineland	Credit Myths
June 14, 2011	11:30 AM	Cambrian	Credit Myths
June 15, 2011	6:30 PM	Alviso	ID Theft
June 21, 2011	2:00 PM	Evergreen	ID Theft
June 22, 2011	6:30 PM	Tully	Access to Capital for Small Businesses
June 29, 2011	6:30 PM	Rose Garden	Access to Capital for Small Businesses

About Meriwest Credit Union

Meriwest Credit Union, one of Silicon Valley’s largest and established financial institutions, has been providing proactive, personal, convenient and innovative financial services to over 85,000 businesses and families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona, for more than 49 years. More information can be found at www.meriwest.com.

 

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