The long, hot summer of 2021 is finally behind us. As much as I love summer, I would prefer a little rain and slightly cooler temperatures. Here’s hoping for a big winter to help alleviate the drought conditions in our State. Along with the shorter days and cooler temperatures comes back to school, football, and the Holiday giving season.
Here at Wasatch Peaks, we try to give back to the communities that support our credit union, our employees, and our members. We love participating in the summer city celebrations and parades… but our favorite time of year is the Holidays. It seems like the Holiday season brings out the best in people and businesses.
I am proud to serve with many community leaders on the Weber School Foundation Board of Trustees. This organization exists solely to provide teachers and students with supplies, educational tools, specialized training, science and math programs, field trips, and more. The Foundation has provided wheelchairs, speech machines, chair lifts, tricycles, and many other devices for children with special needs. The Foundation’s major fundraiser each year is the Christmas Tree Jubilee. It is held each year at the Eccles Conference Center during the week of Thanksgiving. There is a Gala Dinner and hundreds of trees, and other items are auctioned off each year to raise funds for children in the Weber School District. Wasatch Peaks has participated and supported the Jubilee for the past 15 years and we encourage our members to stop by on Wednesday, November 24th and Friday, November 26th to kick off the Holiday Season for you and your families. Check out the Jubilee website by clicking here.
We are also involved with the Ogden School Foundation and their Fall Author Event each year. This foundation does the same amazing work for the children in the Ogden School District. We also support The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weber-Davis and their Scarecrow Extravaganza each fall, which is their major fundraiser. We encourage everyone to get involved with local organizations such as these, there is so much need in our communities – especially this time of year.
We also have several internal programs for our employees and members to participate in each year during the Holidays. Our employees contribute to a Sub for Santa program throughout the year and provide gifts for 20 to 25 children each Christmas. We have a Skip-a-Pay program where, for a $25 fee, our members can skip their December or January loan payments. This helps our members with their Christmas expenses and the credit union donates every dollar collected to local charities and foundations. Perhaps the biggest impact we make in the community each year is our Warm the Soles campaign. Each year, our members, employees, and local businesses donate money to purchase new shoes for school children in need. We work with our local school districts to identify schools with families in need. We purchase, wrap, and deliver the shoes personally. Last year, we raised nearly $39,000, which provided 1,960 pairs of shoes for children from 13 of our local elementary schools.
I hope we can all look outside of ourselves this Holiday season and reach out to those in need. There are literally hundreds of organizations and programs designed to ease pain and suffering in our communities. If any of you are involved in one of these organizations, let us know how we can help. After all, we’re all in this together. I hope you all have a safe and happy 2021 Holiday Season.
