Press
Meriwest sponsors Two AHEAD Program Grants
Funds to Support Financial Literacy and Domestic Violence Relief
SAN JOSE, CA (September 12, 2014) -– Meriwest Credit Union recently received notice of their sponsorship approval for two AHEAD, Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development, grants to help promote financial literacy among at-risk youth, and financial self-sufficiency for victims of domestic violence. The grants are part of $1 million awarded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to nonprofit organizations in Arizona, California, and Nevada.
The AHEAD Program enables FHLB San Francisco members to give a critical, early boost to local programs and projects that target pressing community development needs. “The AHEAD Program allows us to strengthen relationships between Bank members and nonprofit organizations with special expertise in economic and community development,” said Stephen P. Traynor, Senior Vice President, Member Financial Services and Community Investment, at the Bank. “We are pleased that our grants will help get these valuable projects off the ground.”
Meriwest teamed up with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara for their SaveNow pilot program designed to provide financial education to at-risk youth in the sponsor’s Refugee Foster Care Program and others. The SaveNow program delivers learning and actual checking and savings account experience through an app that can facilitate the required financial relationships and promote savings.
Meriwest will sponsor the second grant to support Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, in their mission to end domestic violence in part by helping victims rebuild their lives through financial self-sufficiency. The funds will be used to help deliver
credit counseling, employment training, individual case management, and self-sufficiency workshops designed to prepare domestic abuse victims for a better future, free of domestic violence.
“Through our membership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and our partnership with these programs, we are able to sponsor requests from community agencies that allow them and us to provide guidance and self-sufficiency training for those in need.” said Tony Cortez, Meriwest Credit Union SVP and Chief Experience Officer. “It’s our mission, in partnership with these wonderful organizations, to assist the communities we serve as best we can.”
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 72,000 businesses and families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona, since 1961. More information can be found at www.meriwest.com.
About Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco delivers low-cost funding and other services that help member financial institutions make home mortgages to people of all income levels and provide credit that supports neighborhoods and communities. The Bank also funds community programs that help members create affordable housing and promote community economic development. The Bank’s members are headquartered in Arizona, California, and Nevada and include commercial banks, credit unions, industrial loan companies, savings institutions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions.