Self-Help Shares

In case you missed it: We’re happy to announce two new additions to the Self-Help Credit Union family, both located in South Carolina. Welcome to Palmetto Trust Federal Credit Union located in Columbia, and also to CommunityWorks Federal Credit Union in Greenville. Palmetto Trust Federal officially joined us on September 1. CommunityWorks followed on October 1.

In the late 1970s, when Martha Miller was asked to manage a credit union for Burlington Industries employees, she said, “What’s a credit union?” The Greensboro, North Carolina resident went on to serve as CEO of Choice Federal Credit Union (originally Burlington Employees Federal CU), and ultimately became a leader in NC’s credit union movement.

Seventeen years ago, this November, marks a big day in West Oakland—the inception of People’s Community Partnership Federal Credit Union. People’s was the first and only affordable financial institution in West Oakland in over 40 years. Our latest legacy video tells the story of People’s—now part of Self-Help Federal—a story of true labor of love and activism to build economic power in Oakland’s low-income neighborhoods.

It is heartening to see how many groups have quickly mobilized to help victims of Hurricane Florence. Here we have compiled a quick reference list of resources for donating to reputable groups.

Many of our members live in areas likely to be affected by Hurricane Florence. We at Self-Help Credit Union will take all measures to continue our service to you. Here is a brief summary of resources for members. Here's how to get access to Self-Help CU Banking Services ...

As many kids head back to school, we are happy to celebrate the opening of a new charter school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Working with three other lending partners, Self-Help financed an $8 million loan to New Schools for Baton Rouge to construct a permanent K-12 campus for IDEA Innovation, one of two IDEA Public Schools Louisiana campuses opening this year. IDEA Public Schools is a charter school network known for achieving high academic success in underserved educational districts.

It’s that time of year when our summer interns clean out their Self-Help desks and prepare to go back to school or post-college jobs. Boy, are we missing them! This summer we had 27 energetic students who did all kinds of work for Self-Help in several different locations. They tackled a variety of projects, from fundraising to fighting predatory lending to research on boosting sustainable business practices.

Congratulations to John Herrera, Self-Help Credit Union’s Senior VP of Latino and Hispanic Affairs! John was recently profiled by TIME Magazine as one of "31 People Who Are Changing the South." Eighteen years ago, John was a co-founder of the Latino Community Credit Union, which today serves over 75,000 members and has become a national banking model for new immigrants.

In Wilson NC, Self-Help Credit Union held its first “Community Mortgage Initiative” on July 16 at the Wilson County Public Library. The purpose of the event was to describe the benefits of homeownership and help interested people find out more about the process of buying a home.

SBA 504 loans are backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Self-Help is SBA-certified to offer these loans, which come with significant advantages to small businesses. Here we highlight the success of WorkSmart, a business headquartered in Durham, NC that in recent years has experienced remarkable growth.