2016 marks the 75th Anniversary for Unity Credit Union.  As part of a year of celebrations, Unity Credit Union staff plan to do 75 random acts of kindness throughout the year.  Some of our more recent random acts of kindness have included: delivering goodie bags to Heritage Manor and Parkview Place, delivering Easter chocolates with FAT CAT® to the elementary schools, donating snacks to Unity Community Daycare, delivering meals on wheels, helping the elementary schools with their cleanup work bees for Earth Day, playing games with the residents at Parkview Place and Heritage Manor, handing out flowers in branch, paying for lunches at UCHS, helping pay for groceries at Co-op Food Store and Family Foods, and weeding flower beds.  Stay tuned for more details on our 75th anniversary celebrations!

To see photos, click here!

In July, we held a Facebook contest for members to promote our low interest auto loan promotion.  Members shared pictures of their “ride” to enter for a chance to win 1 of 2 car wash gift certificates.  The winners were Amanda Risling and Laura Howdle.

During the week of May 29th – June 4th Unity Credit Union celebrated Western Days with rodeo-themed decorations and also pictures and items from our past.  On Saturday, June 4th, FAT CAT® joined some of our staff members and their children for the rodeo parade. The float was decorated to celebrate our 75th anniversary—our diamond anniversary.

In June, we bid farewell and a happy retirement to Cindy Young, our Compliance Officer.  Cindy had worked at Unity Credit Union for 36 years in various positions, including Teller, Receptionist, Loans Officer, and Compliance Officer.  We wish her all the best and a happy retirement!

Cindy Chang and Raelyn McAleer were the recipients of our $2000 graduation scholarships to be used to attend post-secondary education.

It pays to be a member! As a member, our success is your success.  We are paying back half of the service charges paid by members in 2015!  During the month of May we began dispersing this patronage in the form of cash.  Contact us for details!

On May 11th, a fundraiser BBQ was held in Unity to raise money for those affected by the Fort McMurray wildfires.  The idea started at CPS, and ended up including support and donations from Unity Credit Union, Syngenta, Bayer Crop Science, AG Foods, Delta Co-op, Compass Minerals, Heitt’s Plumbing & Heating, and Town of Unity.  The BBQ raised $3375.  Unity Credit Union also collected donations on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross, and an additional $4079.30 was remitted in personal donations from our community.

As part of our 75th Anniversary, our 25th Random Act of Kindness was to give away 75 movie tickets to 2nd Avenue Cinema for the Captain America: Civil War movie!  We had 37 winners, with one winner receiving 3 tickets.

We held an Easter FAT CAT® Colouring Contest during March.  Our winners were Chyna and Eric Niccolls, and Emilee Partington.

During March we had an Easter egg hidden at Unity Credit Union.  Members were asked to find the egg, take a picture of it, and share it to our Facebook page for a chance to be entered into a draw for a trip to the Battlefords Co-op Aquatic Centre.  The prize included a $25 gift certificate for the Aquatic Centre, $50 Co-op gift card for fuel, and a $50 Boston Pizza card for supper.  Congratulations to the winner, Kyle McCubbing.

On March 22nd, Unity Credit Union hosted their 2015 Annual General Meeting.  Unity Credit Union reported on another successful year!

We held a Facebook contest for a chance to win 4 tickets to the Motorsports Spectacular event in Saskatoon on February 13th.  Our winner was Abby Frocklage for submitting a photo of her kids enjoying their favourite sport.

Agriculture members that completed and returned their Annual Farm Review updates by February 19th were entered into a draw to win an iPad mini.  The winner was Blair Gerein.

February 24th was declared Pink Day by Saskatchewan Red Cross, a day dedicated to raising awareness about bullying prevention.  Our staff wore pink to show their support for the cause.

Unity Credit Union hosted a bake sale to raise money for Telemiracle on February 25th.  All of the baking was done by credit union employees and raised a total of $400 for Telemiracle.  We also sold “helping hands” throughout February at Unity Credit Union and in Tramping Lake.  In total, $598.90 was raised for Telemiracle.

We hosted a series of Facebook draws for members replying to our festive posts about the holiday season.  Each of our winners received a $50 gift certificate and could choose which holiday charity would also receive a $50 donation from Unity Credit Union.  Our winners were Audra-Lynn Nelson, Selena Woodhouse, Sherri Solomko, Kristi Moon, and Scott Gilbert (nominated by Sherri Solomko).  We also donated $100 to the Unity Community Resource Centre, $100 to the Unity & District Food Bank, and $100 to Secret Santa as chosen by our winners.

Unity Credit Union hosted their annual "Winter Wonderland" on the evening of December 3rd.  The event included old-fashioned sleigh rides, complimentary hot chocolate and hot dogs, fire pits to keep warm, and a special visit from Santa Claus and Fat Cat.  We received $630 in donations for Secret Santa.  In addition, Brent Ackerman, the winner of a $100 gift certificate from Credential, also donated his winnings to Secret Santa.   It was a great night, and we thank everyone who came out to help us celebrate the holiday season!

During the month of November, five of our staff members volunteered to participate in Movember by growing their facial hair in support of men’s health awareness.  In total, our team raised $419.30 in donations for the Movember Canada Foundation.

We held a Halloween Costume Contest on Facebook, asking members to submit their Halloween costume photos.  Voting took place online, and the winner was Adam Baker, who dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite.  Adam was the winner of 2 tickets to 2nd Avenue Cinema.

On International Credit Union Day, we celebrated by having coffee and snacks for members at Unity Credit Union and also handing out “Thank You” chocolates throughout the day.

Co-op Week 2015 was October 11th- 17th.  We partnered with Delta Co-op to show our members what being a co-operative is all about!  We went out into the community to perform some Random Acts of Kindness.  This included:

• An hour and half of volunteer work cleaning the museum kitchen and hall
• Delivering fruit trays to the police station, hospital, fire department, Town of Unity, and Downtown Medical Clinic employees
• Delivering Meals on Wheels
• Recess supervision for St. Peter’s School and Unity Public School
• Handing out positive messages and snacks at the Unity High School

During the month of October, Unity Credit Union raised money for breast cancer research by selling popcorn, pink ribbons, and holding a raffle for a Fifth Avenue Collection ring. The winnder of the ring was Ellen Ternes. In total, $558 was raised for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Congratulations to our contest winner, Marites Demafelix! She was the winner of 2 Roughrider game tickets!  We held a contest on our Facebook page, asking members to share their best game day photos—the one with the most “likes” won.

Dianne Kramer & Shauna Hammer presented a cheque of $790 to Unity Heritage Museum President, Bill Meek.  The cheque represented the staff donations from January to June to be able to "dress down" on Fridays.

On September 20th, Unity Credit Union once again participated in the annual Candace Heitt Memorial Run. The relay team included Gerald Hauta, Shauna Hammer, and Sara Schurman.  Our Manager of Innovation, Josh Noble, and his wife, Vicki, also ran and placed 1st in their run categories.  Rajbir Volk & Megan Schweitzer also volunteered by handing out water at one of the water stations along the run.

Congratulations to Linda & Warren Surine and their harvest crew for winning our CU in the Field draw! They received a home cooked meal delivered to them in the field by our staff.

Delta Co-op and Unity Credit Union once again hosted the pancake breakfast at the Fall Fair and Trade Show on Saturday, September 26th. The proceeds of $736.60 from the breakfast were donated to the Unity Community Daycare.

This year marked the milestone of paying out over $10 million in patronage to our members.  To celebrate, Unity Credit Union organized several community events for our members.  On Wednesday, August 19th, Unity Credit Union hosted a free movie night at 2nd Avenue Cinema.  Members that showed their Unity Credit Union MEMBER CARD® debit card received free admission to the movie Ant-Man.  On Saturday, August 22nd, restaurants in town served free dessert to customers, compliments of Unity Credit Union.  On Thursday, August 27th coffee and cake was served in branch to members to conclude the celebrations.