I had the amazing opportunity to attend America's Credit Union Conference hosted by CUNA and CUNA Mutual (great editorial on the conference by the smart and demanding CU Times Editor Sarah Snell Cooke), as well as be a member of the Cooperative Trust's Crashers. It was an amazing experience for a number of reasons: the people, the content, the will to make changes, and last, but not least, the weather. I will especially appreciate that constant 70 degree weather as my hometown goes into the triple digits.

So, looking back, here's my latest Top Ten List of Things I Learned at #ACUC

10. I'm very glad that Bill Cheney is head of CUNA. His keynote and breakout session with the Crashers prove he understands the need to be more clear on a unified vision for credit unions and he and his wife are very hands on with CU initiatives. Can't wait to see what CUNA will release by the end of the year.
9. Cooperative Trust has really got this YP thing moving. There were a great group of YPs working together all week to come up with a solution to serving the underserved. Every idea, thought, joke was greeted with forthright acceptance, interest and humor. Makes it easy since we were all brilliant, clever and hilarious.
8. I'm a fantastic salsa dancer
7. Meg Ryan was actually in Top Gun despite @itsjustbrent and my insistence this wasn't the case (the bar scene in top gun was filmed at a bar across from the hotel).
6. San Deigo is a beautiful, fun city. I want to go to there (again).
5. CUs must be concerned about sustainability, or as more commonly referred to as the triple bottom line. This will be a more and more critical differentiator and right in line with CU values.
4. I apparently can use twitter as my notes...and I took a lot of them.
3. We need to be aggressive with our message and stand behind it. Check out the UK's Cooperative Bank's ad with it's message combining financial services and sustainability.
2. We need to reach out to the underbanked. They have a unique set of problems and needs and with estimates of $88 million Americans falling into this category, it makes for a very valuable market.  Crash the ACUC was focused on this issue and with the help of a lot of great folks came up with the Tru Account, which we will pilot with a willing credit union shortly.
1. Filene, CUNA, CUNA Mutual ae all great partners for CUs and YPs.  Thank you for all your support.

On Saturday, June 23rd, CUaware partnered with the Raleigh Rescue Mission to lend a helping hand to Raleigh’s community in need.

Our four hour shift began with introductions, as we had several people from different credit unions join us for our event. We had representatives from Coastal and Local Government Credit Union and even some kids and significant others of employees… I love that we are spreading the word of “People Helping People!” and getting others to take part in our events!

With a record number of nine volunteers, we worked with the kitchen manager to bring a hot dinner to the residents of the Mission. Dinner was a smorgasbord of tastes from hamburger steak to BBQ chicken and lasagna to donated Chik-fil-A sandwiches. We had mashed potatoes to go with the steak and green beans, butter beans, and field peas to round off the vegetable choices. We had a blast serving the residents and truly enjoyed the kindness and gratitude they showed us for being there.

After dinner was served, we assisted the staff with cleaning the kitchen and spent a few minutes talking with the kitchen manager about the difference the RRM makes in the lives of people in need. The RRM is a great organization that works solely off of donations. It’s truly amazing the things they’ve accomplished!

Be on the lookout for our next volunteer opportunities coming up! We have another event scheduled with the RRM in August and a DeConstruction event with the Wake County Habitat for Humanity sometime this fall!

Thank you to those who volunteered and took time out of your busy schedule to share a smile with people who need one!

Volunteers: Brad Miller, Brenda Harrington, Karita Robins, Bianca Deluca, Annette Sinclair, Sigrid Olsen, Andy, Sander Casino, and Alex Sabol

- Karita Robins, CUaware Triangle Volunteer Coordinator