Self-Help Shares

Self-Help Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion shares powerful reflections on the importance of full stories this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

Festive gatherings can quickly become tense when the topic of money comes up, but with some creative questions, finance doesn’t have to be a polarizing subject. Check out these six conversation starters from our partners at GreenPath that can help you safely navigate your finance conversations around the holiday dinner table. 

Self-Help's two sister credit unions recently held annual meetings to celebrate our legacy of partnerships with and service to communities across our footprint. For the first time in over two years, we gathered in person with members, partners, and friends to recognize the successes of the past year and look toward our goals for the future. Take a look at some of our favorite moments from the meetings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food insecurity – in terms of both affordability and nutrition – is disproportionately high in many of the communities Self-Help serves and is why we focus on strengthening our nation’s food system.  This year as we prepare to enjoy time with family around Thanksgiving tables, we at Self-Help are deeply grateful to partners who are hard at work making sure nobody goes hungry during the holidays and year-round. Read some highlights from our partners in this effort.

Darius and Terensia Russell had both worked as educators in Atlanta, Georgia, but when life took them in a different direction, they found their dream careers and are now proprietors of a thriving independent pharmacy that serves East Durham. Read more about their journey to business ownership. 

As of 2022, there are currently 5,204 credit unions with over 132 million members in the United States. If you’re reading this, you probably already know why you’re a member of a credit union, but do you know what makes a credit union different from traditional banks, and more important, what credit unions can do to empower individuals and communities? Read more to find out.

The worker-owners of New Bern Bakery, Self-Help’s first backers, outside their storefront in 1981.

Did you know that as a credit union, Self-Help is one of many thousands of cooperative enterprises? There are currently over sixty-four thousand cooperatively owned and operated businesses in the U.S. working to meet a wide range of consumer and community needs, including financial institutions, restaurants and retail stores, manufacturers, and even utilities. Read more about how co-ops work and their potential for supporting strong and thriving local economies.

Self-Help is more than a credit union. Along with you, our members, we're a family of organizations that includes a lending organization; two credit unions serving the Southeast, Midwest, and West Coast; and the Center for Responsible Lending, our advocacy and research arm. Read about a few recent highlights from our efforts to achieve our mission in communities around the country and through each part of the Self-Help family. 

Pictured: Megan Cain, owner of The ZEN Succulent, outside her Durham, NC storefront. Photo credit: Allie Mullin Photography

Megan Cain has worked a variety of jobs since college, but her childhood connection to plants and nature never left her. Megan was born and raised in Raleigh, NC in a house full of exotic plants, and her parents used the plants to instill a sense of responsibility and empathy with living things in Megan and her brother. It wasn't until Megan, well into her career, realized that she could be doing a lot more with her skills and talents, and decided to try her hand at selling handmade terrariums. Read about how she turned this side-business into both a career and a legacy for her growing family.

A deep personal connection to food and cooking runs in Deven and Marquita Carter’s families. The children of a caterer and a chef, respectively, the Carters grew up knowing the importance of good quality, healthy ingredients and food made with love, but didn’t expect it would become their legacy. When a health crisis forced them to rethink their diets, they decided to draw on their backgrounds in food and entrepreneurship to turn their family recipes into a successful business. Read more about their journey.