MSU Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) is proud to announce its foundation, the Desk Drawer Fund, is supporting the Greater Lansing Community by donating $500,000 to Child and Family Charities (CFC).
The donation — presented Sunday, Nov. 20, as part of MSUFCU’s 85th Anniversary Celebration — is allocated over five years in support of Child and Family Charities’ Be the Light capital campaign to better support behavioral health, child abuse prevention, and child welfare services.
“The Desk Drawer Fund was created to support our community and its endeavors in meaningful ways,” said Susi Elkins, MSUFCU Chief Community Impact Officer and Desk Drawer Fund President. “We are honored to help support the work that Child and Family Charities is doing every day to meet the needs of families in our region.”
In 1937, eight Michigan State College faculty and staff opened what was then called MSC Employees Credit Union on campus, which they operated out of a desk drawer. The Desk Drawer Fund, named to honor the Credit Union’s origins, presents opportunities for members and employees to make donations — large or small — to a fund that is ultimately distributed to charitable organizations that serve local communities across the Credit Union’s five philanthropic pillars: arts and culture, stable housing, empowering youth, financial education, and fostering entrepreneurialism. In 2021, donations to the Desk Drawer Fund enabled community support of over $435,000.
“MSUFCU has prioritized serving not only its members but also its community,” said Elliott Daniels, Vice Chair of the Desk Drawer Fund Board. “The Desk Drawer Fund has an opportunity to help Child and Family Charities to create the consolidated campus of services for children, youth, and families right here in our own community. This gift will help fund Child and Family Charities’ new services building which will have behavioral health, child abuse prevention, and child welfare services. This larger space will allow CFC to serve an additional 1,500 individuals per year. They currently serve over 15,000. The services building also features collaboration and community spaces, which MSUFCU will use to provide financial education workshops.”
“Right now, we reach 8,000 individuals in MidMichigan and 15,000 statewide,” said Julie Thomasma, Child and Family Charities CEO. “This building is going to allow us to do so much more and reach more youth who need us. This speaks volumes to MSUFCU’s true commitment to their values and investing in children and families in this region.”
For more information about Children and Family Charities, to view 3D plans for the new space, and to donate, visit childandfamily.org/be-the-