Arsenal Credit Union strives to give back to the communities to which we belong. We put the credit union philosophy of "people helping people" into action with internal programs and services that benefit our members, as well as through fundraisers, drives and other efforts that help local causes and people in need.

 

Click here to read a message from Linda Allen, our president/CEO, about our commitment to social responsibility in 2013 and beyond.

 

One of our promises to our members is to be an active partner in the many organizations of the community. Arsenal CU takes advantage of every available opportunity to fulfill that promise. Our focus in 2013 and beyond will be on hunger, youth and recycling. In the past, we've focused on helping children and veterans.

 

We have strongly supported Children’s Miracle Network, which has two affiliated hospitals in St. Louis, and the Credit Unions for Kids program. We and our employees have participated in numerous fundraisers for CMN, from bowl-a-thons and raffles to dress-down days and bake sales.

 

In addition, we've worked to support veterans’ groups and projects throughout the region. Arsenal CU was a sponsor of the National Veterans Golden Age Games and National Veterans Wheelchair Games, when St. Louis served as the host site for each of these events. When the Fisher House at the St. Louis VA Medical Center needed financial and other types of support, we jumped at the opportunity to help. We also took an active role in Missouri credit unions' efforts to raise funds and mobilize volunteers for Homes for Our Troops, which built two specially adapted homes in Missouri for wounded veterans at no cost.

 

We have also given time, treasure and talent to a variety of other local nonprofit organizations in their efforts to better our communities, including Toys for Tots, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Arnold Police Department, the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation’s Warner’s Warm-up coat drives, the Special Olympics, the American Red Cross and animal rescue groups.

 

Arsenal’s community partnerships have won us 12 Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Awards from the Missouri Credit Union Association.

 

The people-helping-people philosophy pervades all aspects of our daily business. We are especially committed to offering programs, products and services that address our members’ needs.

 

We provide debt counseling materials to our members and give them the opportunity to meet with a credit counselor. Four of our branches boast Member Education Centers, which give our members access to unbiased information on a variety of financial topics. We’ve held member seminars on topics like home and car loans and fraud prevention. Our website links members with Anytime Adviser, a 24-hour online coach for almost any aspect of personal finance and loans.

 

We have a special place in our hearts for youth financial education and encouraging kids and teens to form solid money habits. We’ve given financial education presentations to thousands of area students and written financial education articles for Arnold’s two high school newspapers. Our Tracker Kids Club encourages members age 12 and younger to save their money and offers incentives for good grades, while our teen club encourages teens to take the next steps by investing in a CD, building smart credit with a Visa credit card and managing their money in a checking account. We award college scholarships to graduating high school seniors in our membership, with more than $45,000 awarded to date.

 

For making “people helping people” an integral part of our everyday operations, we’ve received eight Louise Herring Awards for Philosophy in Action and three first-place Desjardins Youth Financial Education awards from the Missouri Credit Union Association, along with a 2005 honorable mention in a national competition for our Tracker Kids Club.