Press
PHCU connects with foundations, members through campaign refund
Health-based CU allocates funds to related foundations based on membership.
COLUMBIA, SC (August 8, 2014) –Palmetto Health Credit Union (PHCU) recently redirected media campaign funds totaling just over $12,400 between the Palmetto Health Foundation and the Baptist Easley Hospital Foundation, two organizations that serve needs closely aligned with the PHCU membership base.
PHCU, which has just over $59 million in assets and 13,450 members, based its contributions to each entity on the relative number of members represented. The credit union contributed $11,400 to the Palmetto Health Foundation for its Employee Benevolence Fund, which provides assistance to Palmetto Health employees facing personal difficulty. PHCU gave another $1,056 to the Baptist Easley Hospital Foundation, which will apply the funds to new mammography equipment.
“We saw this as an excellent opportunity to give back to our members by supporting the Employee Assistance Fund in Columbia and, at Easley, contributing to the project with a most pressing need for that hospital,” PHCU Vice Chair and Chaplain Matthew Horne said of the decision. “Sometimes we have to get creative when we devise meaningful ways to give back, but both of these projects are simple and effective ways to make a positive difference for those we serve.”
The donations were enabled by a refund of PHCU contributions to the Credit Unions of South Carolina Cooperative Media Campaign, which was discontinued on April 29. With the refunds, SC Media Committee Chair Anne Shivers encouraged contributors to use the funds in meaningful ways, suggesting causes such as the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation, local children’s hospitals, credit unions’BizKid$ educational program, the SC Financial Literacy Trust Fund, or others based on each credit union’s uniqueness.
Palmetto Health Credit Union was founded in 1999 with the merger of Baptist Hospital Employees’ CU and Richland Memorial Employees FCU to serve the employees of the Palmetto Health Hospital in Columbia, SC. Its field of membership now includes Palmetto Health Hospital in Columbia, Baptist Easley Hospital (Easley, SC), the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and those who live, work, or attend school in Richland County, South Carolina.