Self-Help Shares

Last week I was among nine summer interns in Durham, NC who spent a steamy summer afternoon volunteering for a local nonprofit called SEEDS. SEEDS maintains a two-acre garden classroom for young people ...

Summer can be a carefree time for kids who are out of school, but for those who rely on school lunches, hot days can be hungry days. Here at Self-Help, we’re involved in several initiatives to help.

Among all the numbers in your life, your credit score is the most important when it comes to your financial future. Your score can affect whether you get a loan, credit card or apartment, how much you can borrow; the interest rate you pay; or even whether you land a job! Here’s some basic information about what makes up your score and how scores work.

Revolution Mill is a multi-use campus designed for Greensboro residents to live, work, and create near downtown. Self-Help has spent the past five years renovating and renewing the site as a way to spur growth and investment in the Greensboro area. Located on a 45-acre historic former textile campus, Revolution Mill houses residential apartments, upscale indoor and outdoor amenities including access to Greensboro's larger Greenway network, and over 250,000 square feet of office space. 

Last week, Self-Help's headquarters in Durham got a major face-lift. The signage at the top of the building on the Ramseur street side had been on display for nearly two decades. This past Friday, crews worked all day, stopping only for a brief rain delay, to detach and lower the old sign and raise the new one. The new sign is 40 feet long, nine feet tall, and was lifted by crane approximately eight stories high. The time-lapse video below shows a spectacular view of the installation process. Check out those clouds!

Our summer intern, Teree Willis, intends to buy her own home one day. Here she explains why.  

Each year our Self-Help Credit Union branches offer $500 to a local student planning to attend vocational school or college. We evaluate each application on the student’s proven commitment to community service through leadership or volunteer activities. Each applicant also submits an essay on the value of credit unions in the community. Here we present our 17 winners.

    

Recently Self-Help Credit Union and Self-Help Federal Credit Union each had a significant merger, expanding our mission footprint in Florida and Chicago, respectively. Effective June 1, Jax Metro Credit Union joined Self-Help Credit Union. The other recent expansion came on May 1, when Chicago’s Seaway Bank became part of Self-Help Federal Credit Union.

This past Saturday I attended the funeral service of Baba Chuck Davis in Durham, North Carolina. In the African tradition, “Baba” means father. In Durham, I think it’s safe to say that “Baba” means Chuck Davis!

Before I even reached Union Baptist Church it was clear that I was approaching the right place. The air was carrying the unmistakably deep, tight beat of African drummers and the song of an unrestrained praise choir at full voice.

When Anika Williams walked into a Self-Help Credit Union branch in February of 2015, she was nervous. She had a clear goal in mind: She wanted become a homeowner. But the path to reaching her goal seemed daunting, full of steps she didn't fully understand. She knew she had a low credit score, but she wasn't sure how to improve it. Anika remembers, “I knew what I wanted, but I didn't know how to get there.”