More than 1,800 local residents took action to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by shredding old financial records and other paperwork at Redwood Credit Union’s (RCU’s) free annual Shred-a-Thon, held at RCU’s administrative offices in Santa Rosa on Saturday, August 4, 2018. 56 RCU volunteers and eight shredding trucks from Shred-IT were on-site at the event to help the community safely dispose of and recycle approximately 60,000 lbs. of documents. Nine people also attended a free seminar at the event on ways to prevent fraud and identity theft.
Additionally, Conservation Corps of the North Bay collected nearly 18,000 lbs. of e-waste on site at the event, including old TVs, printers, monitors, computers, and other personal electronics for secure recycling.
“Shredding sensitive documents—such as old financial statements and bills—is one of the best precautions people can take against identity theft, so we were happy to once again provide this service to our community,” said Matt Martin, vice president of community relations at RCU.
Redwood Empire Food Bank was also at the event and collected more than $3,500 in monetary contributions and 450 pounds of food donated by attendees. These donations are estimated to help provide over 7,400 meals for those in need.
RCU holds Shred-a-Thons annually in several of the communities it serves, with their final 2018 event planned for August 25 in Ukiah, Calif. To learn more, including tips on what and when to shred, visit www.redwoodcu.org/shred.
Redwood Credit Union volunteer Matt Ostling (left) helps Shred-a-Thon event attendee Barry DeMartini to securely dispose of confidential paperwork.
Redwood Credit Union volunteers helped more than 1,800 people shred sensitive documents at their free community Shred-a-Thon event.