Press
Meriwest Credit Union Provides Banking Education to over 3,000 People
Greg Meyer
Meriwest Credit Union
Community Relations Manager
Direct Line: 408-365-6328
gmeyer@meriwest.com
SAN JOSE, CA – November 3, 2010– Today, there are over 3,000 members of the Silicon Valley community who now have a better understanding of their credit, their budgets, and their checking accounts, thanks to Meriwest Credit Union’s “Financial Education for All” program. Meriwest’s “Financial Education for All” program supports credit union members, students in local schools and clients of community development organizations with working presentations, educational materials, and one on one counseling designed to help people gain more control over their finances. From January 1st through November 1st, just over 3,000 have participated in this year’s financial education presentations.
The program was started in 2007 to provide financial information to families struggling to make ends meet as our economy started to decline. As the recession deepened, Meriwest Credit Union made the “Financial Education for All” program a regular part of their educational offerings to their membership and the community at large. The program provides education in four key areas of finance: Managing Credit, Creating Budgets, Managing Checking Accounts, and Preventing Identity Theft. There are additional workshops available for Homebuying, Predatory Lending, and Retirement Planning. Since the inception of the program in August 2007, over 6,300 area individuals have taken part in the workshops.
“I want to thank the families of our community who participate in Meriwest’s financial workshops and allow us the opportunity to assist them with information on managing their finances and their credit.” said Meriwest Credit Union President and CEO Christopher Owen. “These workshops have allowed our employees the opportunity to give back to the communities and to the people who have been a part of the Meriwest family for nearly 50 years.”
“Additional gratitude goes to the many community organizations who have partnered with us like Catholic Charities, Innvision, Santa Clara County Social Services Department, our public schools and the Housing Authorities in San Mateo and Alameda Counties.” said Meriwest Community Relations Manager Greg Meyer. “Without their support and logistical assistance Meriwest’s outreach would be nearly impossible.”
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.