Meriwest Credit Union – Doing our part to make homeownership a reality for families in Fremont
SILICON VALLEY,, CA (January 29, 2019) — Meriwest Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions serving Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona, continues its commitment to help eliminate homelessness by sponsoring grants that provide affordable housing for community residents.
Meriwest teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to support and celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of 11 affordable homes in Fremont, known as Central Commons, at a home dedication ceremony on January 12.
“It is always our pleasure to team up with Habitat for Humanity to do our part in fulfilling the dream of home ownership for families in the East Bay and Silicon Valley,” said Julie Kirsch, President and CEO of Meriwest.
Janice Jensen, President and CEO of Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley thanked Meriwest and several other key partners for embracing the development from the start with early financing that made the project possible.
Mayor Lily Mei of Fremont, community residents, volunteers and financial supporters were among the 400 attendees at the dedication where families were welcomed to their new homes. In addition to Habitat for Humanity’s ceremonial gift, which was a hammer, Meriwest also presented a special housewarming gift to one family who received their new home.
“This event is the culmination of a herculean effort to build this first phase of Central Commons – the affiliate’s first condominium-style development – with approximately 2,000 volunteers contributing close to 20,000 hours. Thousands of additional hours were put in by the future homeowners, each of whom completed 500 hours of “sweat equity” toward the building of their future neighborhood. Dedications really bring it home, so to speak,” said Janice Jensen, President and CEO of Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley. “When we can welcome a Habitat family to their new home, it’s a wonderful reminder of why we do this work, and the incredible community that makes it possible.”
Meriwest strongly believes in people helping people and prides itself on its hands-on approach to making its community a better place to live.
About Meriwest Credit Union
Founded in San Jose, California in 1961, Meriwest Credit Union, one of Silicon Valley’s largest and most established financial institutions, provides proactive, personal, convenient, and innovative financial services to over 80,000 families and businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Pima County, Arizona. Meriwest, with assets in excess of $2.3 billion, offers a wide array of personal banking, business banking, and wealth advisory products and services to members. The credit union was voted ‘Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley’ in the Mercury News’ 21st Annual ‘Readers’ Choice Awards’, ‘America’s Best Small Employers’ by Forbes Magazine in 2023, and a “Best Place to Work” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal 2020 through 2023. More information can be found at www.meriwest.com.
About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.
