Self-Help Shares

We can’t close out May without taking time to honor Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! The AANHPI community in the U.S. is made up of a huge range of people coming from over 50 different ethnic backgrounds.  

While members of the AANHPI community have a wide range of experiences and histories within the U.S., many AANHPI groups consist of immigrants that have come to the U.S. with little to no credit, making it challenging to build wealth for many AANHPI families.  

In this blog post, we will be discussing what credit is, what goes into your credit, and steps that AANHPI communities and immigrants can take to build credit. 

In our latest legacy video, “Investing in People: Community Trust Credit Union,” you’ll get to hear from members, employees, and partners about the legacy and history of Community Trust Credit Union in Modesto, CA, leading up to its merger with Self-Help. 

February is Black History Month, and this year marks 100 years of national Black History commemorations. Black History Month originally started as only a week-long celebration in February of 1926, but it was expanded to be a monthlong celebration at the 50th anniversary in 1976. 

The purpose of this annual recognition is to honor the often-neglected accomplishments of Black Americans throughout our history. While Black Americans have contributed substantially to our progress as a society, it is also important to celebrate the personal accomplishments of Black Americans. People don’t have to be written in our history books to be considered valued and important members of our families, neighborhoods, and communities. 

In this blog post, we will be sharing stories from our members and borrowers over the years who have worked hard to break down barriers and achieve their financial goals. We are honored to consider them part of the Self-Help family. 

Self-Help believes in ownership and economic opportunity for all — but in order to thrive economically, our communities have to have the tools they need to survive on a daily basis. One important tool that is often taken for granted is access to food.  

That’s why Self-Help is joining the fight against food instability by partnering with No Kid Hungry. No Kid Hungry is a campaign focused on providing children with access to three meals a day. It is run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world.

For many people, the holidays are often associated with home. Home is what you make it, but we know that finding the right living space to call your own can make a difference in your health, happiness, and safety while giving you and your loved ones the gift of generational wealth. 

In this blog post, we are sharing Demetre’s journey from stressful living to creating a more comfortable home for his family. 

^{Originally published on November 4th, 2024. Updated on November 24th, 2025.}

The holiday season is upon us, which means we are preparing for the joyous food, festivities, and gifts that we love to share with loved ones... but unfortunately, that comes with extra expenses, too. 

Avoid the extra financial stress by creating and sticking to a holiday budget, so you can enjoy this time of year without breaking the bank. In this blog post, we will be going through the steps for creating a holiday budget, tips for how to stick with it, and ways you can get extra support.