BECU Employees Assemble 26,000 Care Kits for Local Nonprofit Partners – The Suburban Times

Submitted by BECU.

As a leading financial cooperative, BECU supports the communities in which its members live, work and play. Today the credit union announced that its doors are closed for Indigenous Peoples Day and that nearly 2,500 employees are virtually participating in their annual BECU Cares Day (formerly the Annual Day of Service), packing a total of around 26,000 kits for nine nonprofit partners to be distributed will be given to the people whom the organizations serve.

“Our BECU Cares Day is an opportunity for employees to live our values and give back to local nonprofits that are making meaningful change in our communities,” said Benson Porter, President and CEO of BECU. “Although a lot has changed in recent years, the credit union philosophy, ‘people help people,’ is as strong as ever. Helping others is at the core of our business and we believe that each individual deserves access to essential things that support their wellbeing. “

Each employee will assemble the kits remotely from home and at the same time connect digitally with their work teams via video chat. Kits vary by partner organization and contain items to support personal hygiene, wellbeing, school supplies and a new home.

This year, nine of BECU’s philanthropic partners in Washington and South Carolina will benefit from the care packages, including:

ACRS – Asian Counseling and Referral Service: Personal care kits are distributed to Asian-American and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
College Success Foundation: School supplies are being distributed to underserved high school students in nine Washington public school districts.
Giving Backpacks: Toiletries are used to help 1,500 people in Spokane, Washington, who are homeless and in need of basic necessities.
King County’s Habitat for Humanity: King County’s families moving from homes at risk will receive new housing sets.
Housing Hope: Personal care and wellness kits are made available to individuals and families in Snohomish County through its programs that focus on helping people get out of homelessness.
Junior Achievement of Washington: School supplies and wellness kits are distributed to students and teachers across Washington state.
One80 Place: Personal Care Kits go to the largest homeless services provider in the Lowcountry area of South Carolina to serve families and individuals in need.
Raising Girls: Toiletries are provided for girls in Pierce County and Seattle’s South Sound who do not have access to daily grooming and hygiene products.
SNAP – Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners: Personal care kits are distributed to families living in poverty in Spokane, Washington.

In the past few years, BECU’s annual service day was a day when all employees came together on Indigenous Peoples Day to provide high school students with financial education or to do community service to local non-profit organizations. Due to the positive response BECU received to providing supply packages to nonprofits in 2020, the credit union took a similar approach for this year’s event.