OnPoint Community Credit Union Donates $100,000 to Oregon and SW Washington Non-profits on Giving Tuesday

Blanchet House, Habitat for Humanity Oregon and New Avenues for Youth are among the latest recipients in a record year of giving for Oregon's largest credit union.

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on Giving Tuesday, OnPoint Community Credit Union announced it will contribute a total of $100,000, which will be split amongst eight non-profits that provide food and shelter relief to Oregonians and Southwest Washingtonians.

Blanchet House, Habitat for Humanity of Oregon and New Avenues for Youth will each use the $25,000 gift from OnPoint to advance their missions of providing food security, day shelter and valuable resources to underserved communities in the Portland metro area. OnPoint will provide $5,000 to each of the following regional non-profits: The Giving Plate in Central Oregon, 15^th Night in Eugene, FISH of Vancouver in Southwest Washington, Marion Polk Food Share in Salem and Yamhill Community Action Project in McMinnville.

"Our purpose as a community credit union is to build strong communities," said Rob Stuart, OnPoint President and Chief Executive Officer. "We strive every day to live our purpose by partnering with organizations that address the most pressing needs of our communities. We are honored to partner with these eight incredible organizations as they work to make a tangible difference in the lives of those they serve."

Founded in 1952, Blanchet House aims to alleviate suffering and offer hope for a better life by serving essential aid with dignity. Based in Old Town, Blanchet serves three hot meals a day, six days a week, feeding nearly 1,000 people daily. In addition, men struggling with addiction, unemployment, mental health, housing and other challenges can find shelter and work at Blanchet House's residential programs in downtown Portland and at a farm in Carlton, Ore. With the donation from OnPoint, Blanchet House will provide over 16,000 hot, nutritious meals to people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity in Portland.

"From colder weather to difficult memories, the holidays can be a tough time for people trying to build new, healthier lives," said Julie Showers, Marketing and Communications Director at Blanchet House. "Many people first come to us because they're hungry. OnPoint's generosity will put thousands of hot, nutritious meals on the table this holiday season, providing us with thousands of opportunities to offer lifesaving wraparound services to our most vulnerable neighbors. We can't thank OnPoint enough and look forward to expanding on our partnership so we can impact even more lives together."

Habitat for Humanity of Oregon partners with community members to help them build or improve a place they can call home. Its dedicated staff and volunteers build and repair homes across the state to empower homeowners to achieve strength, stability and independence for themselves and their families. OnPoint's donation will support Habitat for Humanity of Oregon's Homeowner Advisory Council, a group of Habitat homeowners that advise on the program, policy and advocacy decisions and create opportunities for participant enrichment and networking, general programming like down payment assistance for low-income Oregonian homebuyers, and its Western Region Conference, a biennial regional training for Habitat for Humanity affiliates.

"The local housing market remains challenging, putting homeownership out of reach for too many in our region," said Shannon Vilhauer, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Oregon. "OnPoint's generosity allows us to support our 24 affiliates across the state in building homes, communities and hope. We thank them for their support and look forward to growing our partnership to get even more people into homes."

New Avenues for Youth is a Portland-based non-profit organization dedicated to preventing youth homelessness and providing young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with the resources and skills needed to lead healthy, productive lives. From meals and counseling to job training and housing, New Avenues for Youth provides services to young people aged nine to 24 to address the many barriers to stability and well-being.

"New Avenues for Youth's services for young people who are currently experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness aren't possible without the support of incredible community partners like OnPoint," said Lauren Eads, Director of Development and Communications at New Avenues for Youth. "Gifts like this one make it possible for our education program to support youth as they pursue their GEDs, explore their personal career goals, and work toward achieving their dreams."

OnPoint's support for non-profits supporting food and shelter needs extends to other Oregon and SW Washington regions. OnPoint will donate an additional $5,000 to each of the following non-profits serving Clark County, Central Oregon, Eugene, Salem and McMinnville:

• FISH of Vancouver, which provides nutritionally balanced food without charge to Washingtonians in need.
• The Giving Plate, the largest food pantry in Central Oregon.
• 15th Night, a youth-informed community-wide partnership that supports Eugene-Springfield students
• Marion Polk Food Share, which distributes nutritious food to underserved people in the Salem area.
• Yamhill Community Action Project, which distributes food to emergency food pantries located throughout Yamhill County.

This year, OnPoint is on track to donate $2.3 million to more than 304 non-profits addressing Oregon and Southwest Washington's most critical needs. A new record for the credit union's annual giving program, this year's donations focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, education, food and shelter, climate change and youth services.

OnPoint has continued to grow its charitable giving program over the last three years, more than doubling its annual giving in that time period, directly responding to the growing needs in the region. This giving includes a $100,000 donation to non-profits focused on fighting the impacts of climate change as part of OnPoint's Green Horizons initiative, donating $25,000 each to SOLVE Oregon, The Nature Conservancy Oregon, Forth and The Freshwater Trust. In addition, more than $695,000 of this year's giving went to DEI-focused organizations, and OnPoint remains committed to expanding its charitable giving efforts even further. Below are non-profits advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion to which OnPoint made donations this year:

• $67,700 to Cascade AIDS Project
• $25,000 to APANO Communities United Fund
• $25,000 to Black United Fund of Oregon
• $25,000 to Coalition of Communities of Color
• $25,000 to Hacienda CDC
• $25,000 to Native American Youth & Family Center
• $25,000 to New Avenues for Youth
• $25,000 to Portland NAACP
• $25,000 to Urban League of Portland
• $10,000 to Adelante Mujeres
• $10,000 to All Hands Raised
• $10,000 to Girls, Inc. of the Pacific Northwest
• $10,000 to Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
• $10,000 to Historic Parkrose
• $10,000 to Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization
• $10,000 to Impact NW
• $10,000 to KairosPDX
• $10,000 to Latino Network
• $10,000 to Meals On Wheels People
• $10,000 to Neighborhood House
• $10,000 to Outside In
• $10,000 to Proud Ground
• $10,000 to Unite Oregon
• $10,000 to XXcelerate

In addition to the donations announced today, OnPoint is also kicking off its holiday social giving campaign on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. From November 29 to December 9, OnPoint followers can nominate their favorite non-profit to receive a donation from the credit union by following/liking OnPoint channels and sharing the non-profit they support. From the pool of finalists with the most nominations, one organization will be named the grand prize winner of $5,000 and the next closest five organizations will each receive $2,500.

Participants can vote through the credit union's social media channels by tagging OnPoint and using the #OnPointGiving hashtag or commenting on one of its social media posts.

OnPoint provides funding for non-profits, local government-sponsored projects, educational institutions and foundations that positively impact its membership area. More information about OnPoint's giving program, visit onpointcu.com/community-giving.

OnPoint Community Credit Union is the largest credit union in Oregon, serving over 500,000 members and with assets of $9.1 billion. Founded in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union's membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of 28 Oregon counties (Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler and Yamhill) and two Washington counties (Skamania and Clark) and their immediate family members. More information is available at www.onpointcu.com or 503-228-7077 or 800-527-3932.

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SOURCE OnPoint Community Credit Union