Salem-Keizer School District Names Maps Credit Union Business Partner of the Month

Salem, OR, September 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The Salem-Keizer School District honored Maps Credit Union as Business Partner of the Month at its board meeting last night. The award recognizes the credit union for its long-standing support of the district, in particular the recently announced donation of $50,000. The district has chosen to use the funds, which represent the largest donation the district has ever received, to support athletics.

When presenting the credit union with the recognition, Jay Remy, director of Community Relations and Communications for the district, said, “Maps has demonstrated a long history of responding to the needs of the school district through business partnership activities at all levels of learning, both for the student and the teacher.”

One critical element of Maps’ long relationship with the schools are the three student branches, which function as school-to-work labs for high school business courses at North Salem, West Salem and McKay high schools. The first branch opened in North Salem High in 1995. “Partnerships between schools and businesses became a focus in the 1990s as role models for students became increasingly important to academic success,” said Remy.

As a credit union founded by educators, Maps is committed to retaining close ties with local schools and educational programs. Many of its members are teachers or retired teachers, and the credit union counts lifelong learning as one of its community service foundations — the other is economic development. Those close ties with local schools were the impetus for the current donation. “I am proud of our work with the Salem-Keizer School District,” said Jill Nowacki, VP of development at Maps Credit Union. “Because of our involvement in the local schools through our education branches, we have seen firsthand how hard hit our schools are by recent budget cuts.

“I hope our recent donation serves both as an inspiration to other businesses to form similar partnerships and help fill some of the gaps in funding our local schools and as a roadmap toward further partnerships for us,” Nowacki continued. “We believe our schools are a cornerstone of the community, and as a community credit union we feel a great responsibility to ensure the success of our schools and our students.”

In addition to its work with local schools, the credit union also provides financial literacy education through various area non-profits and business partners. Recently, the credit union joined Western Oregon University in launching the Latino Education and Access Program, which is designed to help local Hispanic students complete higher education. Fundraising for LEAP kicks off with a visit to the campus by former Mexican President Vicente Fox. Maps Credit Union is the platinum title sponsor for Fox’s visit.

Maps Credit Union has come a long way since a group of 17 volunteers joined together in 1935, running the credit union out of kitchens and living rooms in homes throughout Marion County. Today, Maps serves more than 40,000 members in Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Linn, Benton, Clackamas, Washington, and Multnomah counties. The credit union has nine branches located in east, west, south and central Salem; Keizer; the Willamette University campus; Monmouth; Woodburn; and Silverton.

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For more information, please contact Jennifer Cadiente, Marketing Department
503-588-0181 or 800-688-0181, ext. 3230, or e-mail: jcadiente@Mapscu.com.

Administration Center • 451 Division St., NE • P.O. Box 12398 • Salem, OR 97309 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 588-0665

Hines Street Branch • 1900 Hines St., SE • Salem, OR 97309 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 588-0665

West Salem Branch • 476 Glen Creek Rd., NW • Salem, OR 97304 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 588-0377

Chemeketa Branch • 4001 Winema Place, NE, Suite 100 • Salem, OR 97305 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 375-3126

McNary Branch • 111 McNary Estates Dr. • Keizer, OR 97307 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 463-6292

South Salem Branch • 4615 Commercial Street, SE • Salem, OR 97302 • (503) 588-0181, ext. 5750 • FAX (503) 566-2168

WU Bearcat Branch • Putnam Center, Willamette University • (503) 370-6933 • FAX (503) 370-6831

Monmouth Branch • 163 North Knox Street, Monmouth, OR 97361 • (503) 588-0181 • FAX (503) 838-2884

Woodburn Branch • 1860 Newberg Highway, Woodburn, OR 97071 • (971) 216-0110 • FAX (503) 779-1562

Silverton Branch • 307 E Main Street, Silverton, OR 97381 • (503) 873-6277