2016 marked the first full year of Self-Help Shares, our blog that helps members and friends stay up to date. The blog covers a wide range of news, from personal profiles of inspiring people to practical financial information to save you time and money.

Here we look back at the 10 topics that received the strongest response from readers in the past year.

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Top 10

A nearly abandoned shopping center in Greensboro received new life, beginning with a community food co-op.

Each of our SHCU branches offered a college scholarship to a local student with a strong record of volunteering.  

We honored Black History Month with video clips depicting African-American history in the communities we serve.

Self-Help reached out to members affected by Hurricane Matthew, offering loan relief and other forms of assistance.

Ed Holland, CEO of Greater Piedmont Credit Union for 35 years, reflected on his career, mission, and the merger with Self-Help.

Members were interested to find out about free financial counseling via our partners, BALANCE and OnTrack WNC.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union, based in California, merged with a small credit union in Florida started by a group of dedicated nuns.

Self-Help called for the repeal of NC’s HB2 law, calling it discriminatory and “unnecessarily divisive and unjustified.”   

A Self-Help loan helps launch Seal the Seasons, a business that connects local farmers to NC tables by freezing and distributing local produce.

Finally, many members responded to our call to stop 400% payday loans by submitting a comment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.