Raiz FCU opens new Lomaland branch
Revitalizing El Paso’s Neighborhoods
EL PASO, TX (March 10, 2023) — A year after Raiz Federal Credit Union’s held its Lomaland branch groundbreaking in February 2022, the organization celebrated the grand opening of its newest branch on 975 Lomaland. The Raiz Board of Directors, Raiz CEO and President, Max Villaronga, Raiz Senior Management, CT Construction, CDA Architects, El Paso Chamber, and El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ceremoniously cut the ribbon, officially opening the new Raiz branch doors to the community.
The Lomaland branch brings a revitalization to the neighborhood with its modern design and fintech additions of upgraded self-servicing ATMs located inside the lobby and at its three drive-up lanes. This high-service, high-tech model will help bring innovative technology to this community while still providing a friendly environment to help guide its members to achieve their financial goals. “Our Lomaland branch is even more special because building a new branch allowed us to repurpose the original building, to our left, into what will soon house the Underserved Communities Foundation and our very own Raiz Community Impact department.” stated Max Villaronga, Raiz CEO and President. “[By] repurposing [the original Lomaland building], we can continue our vision of helping this particular community in El Paso by giving back with community projects and initiatives that the UCF supports.”
As a credit union founded in education, Raiz commemorated the occasion by presenting Loma Terrace Elementary, a staple school in this area that has been educating students for over 65 years, with a sponsorship of financial education courses provided by Banzai. With this sponsorship, all teachers of Loma Terrace and its approximately 500 students will have access to Banzai Jr. coursework, workbooks, and an online portal to teach children as young as eight years old the basics of saving, budgeting, and the value of money at no cost. Raiz offers financial education resources for free to the public with a plethora of financial articles, calculators and courses on various topics like credit scores, home buying, or even retirement directly from their website at www.raiz.us/financial-education.
In addition to this, Raiz presented the Underserved Community Foundation (UCF) with $200,000 as a second gift to the community in support of their mission to reduce poverty by empowering the underserved. UCF Executive Director, Diana I. Hastings, accepted the gift on behalf of the organization and shared, “We are here to serve the many individuals and communities that are unable to access available funds and services due to a variety of factors including legal status, cognitive and/or mobility limitations, lack of transportation, to name a few.” The UCF is a non-profit organization whose vision is to promote initiatives, programs, and policies that produce a thriving and equitable society. The organization has identified eight priority areas in which it will focus its efforts including, education, affordable/accessible credit and savings, employment, diversity, equity and inclusion, health, environment and technology, hunger/food security, housing and transportation. “Thanks to partnerships like these with Raiz, the UCF is able to carry through our mission to aid those in need.”
The ceremony was followed by a reception for guests to tour the new Raiz branch and enjoy food from Los Pistoleros and live music from the local musical duo, Dorian Band.
Raiz Federal Credit Union was founded by seven educators with a mere $3,000 more than 85 years ago, and today boasts more than $940,000,000 in assets and over 70,000 members. For more information about Raiz and their products and services available, including financial education, please visit www.raiz.us.
About Raiz Federal Credit Union
At Raiz (pronounced as "rise" in English and "rah-EES" in Spanish), our members and strong, vibrant community inspire us daily. We share a passion for knowledge and the pursuit of growth, grounded in our heritage as El Paso Area Teachers Federal Credit Union (TFCU). Today, we guide members from many professions to focus on their goals and help them get here. We're proud of our roots in El Paso (since 1936) as we envision a bold path forward, leading the way with passion. We are over 70,000 members strong and provide a full range of high-quality financial services at the great rates and low costs you can expect from a first-class credit union. Join us and experience the difference that comes from working with people who care.
The meaning behind our name:
Spanish for root, our new identity grows from our heritage in the community. Grounded in the roots of our beginning with teachers, sharing a passion for knowledge and pursuit of growth. We inspire our members and employees to feel connected to our future potential together. We are rising and inviting people to move forward with us. As we look out to the light over the Franklin Mountains rising from El Paso, we look up and ahead to an even brighter tomorrow.
About Underserved Communities Foundation:
The Underserved Communities Foundation (UCF) was founded in March 2021 as a non-profit community foundation embracing the vision of community and individual economic development through the people helping people philosophy. UCF supports activities and organizations that address: Affordable/accessible credit and savings, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Employment, Environment, Food Insecurity, Health, Housing, Technology, and Transportation. UCF strives to accomplish this by being a leader in charitable giving, volunteerism, partnerships, scholarships, fundraising, and other appropriate and available methods designed to move underserved communities forward.
Contact: Diana Hastings
| 915-926-2412 |
dhastings@underservedcommunitiesfoundation.org
