Blue Federal Credit Union donates to Wellington and Fort Collins, inspires Do Good actions from the community

As part of its 2016 Do Gooders Unite campaign, Blue Federal Credit Union pledged to donate $10,000 to downtown Wellington and $20,000 to downtown Fort Collins when it reached its goal of 300 new checking accounts.

With the help of local community members, Blue achieved that goal at the end of 2016. Through the Blue Foundation, donation checks were presented to the Wellington Main Streets Program and the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority (DDA) for special projects this month.

“Blue Federal Credit Union is committed to the communities we serve, and we continually look for ways to invest in those communities and further serve our members,” said Michele Bolkovatz, Blue’s Vice President of Marketing. “The Do Gooders Unite campaign is a great way for the community and Blue to join together.”

It was announced last November that the $10,000 donation to Wellington would be used to install new bike racks throughout Main Street. By spring of 2017, 10-15 new bike racks will be installed in the approximate six blocks that constitutes downtown Wellington.

“Wellington has seen explosive growth, but in a relatively bike-friendly way,” said Dave Michaelson, Executive Director of Wellington’s Main Streets Program. “Our long-term goal as part of our downtown revitalization effort will include bikeway planning to connect recent subdivisions with the historic downtown. In addition, bike racks are an important feature of our long-term streetscape plan.”

The $20,000 donation to the Fort Collins DDA will also be used towards additional bike racks in the downtown area.

“The Fort Collins DDA looks forward to directing the Blue FCU Foundation’s donation to the ongoing endeavor to increase bicycle parking racks in the downtown area,” said Matt Robenalt, Executive Director of the Fort Collins DDA. “The opportunity created by the donation will support an effort to look for new, innovative ways to increase existing bike rack capacity and intensity in 2017.”

In addition to the generous community donations, the Do Gooders Unite campaign also offered $100 to those who opened new checking accounts in order to achieve Blue’s goal. There were no strings attached to receiving the $100 after opening the account; it was only asked that the new member go out and do something good with the money.

The campaign inspired the new account holders to donate to charity or help out a friend in need with the extra $100.

“My neighbor’s daughter’s ceiling was falling down on the inside. So with my $100.00 we bought drywall and four 12 foot long 2×4’s, put texture on the walls. It made me feel so good to be able to help. And now the bedroom is so beautifully done,” said one member.

Not only did the Do Gooders Unite campaign inspire community members, but staff members at Blue also were moved to spread the Do Good spirit.

“The Do Good campaign inspired me as well as my family,” said Michelle Pearson, Investments Advisor with Investments at Blue. “This year we decided to do Christmas different. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on toys and games and things our two boys don’t need, we decided to help another family have a good Christmas. Our boys got something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. And that was it. With the extra money we saved, we sponsored another family and bought their two kids some clothes and things they needed. Then we also gave the parents in the family some gift cards for groceries to get them through the holidays. This taught our boys a valuable lesson that giving is always better than receiving. They already said they want to do it again next year because they loved the way it made them feel.”

With the success of the Do Gooders Unite campaign, Blue Federal Credit Union is proud to give back to its communities and looks forward to continuing similar campaigns in the future.