After participating in an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network, representatives from two local credit unions delivered a check for $54,067 to the Cottage Children’s Medical Center in Santa Barbara, the Central Coast’s regional CMN children’s facility.
Geri LaChance, president and CEO of SESLOC Federal Credit Union, was joined by Jeff York, president and CEO of CoastHills Credit Union, in a ceremony to deliver the check – along with a red wagon full of learning toys for young patients.
The two local credit unions participated in the Credit Unions for Kids Wine Auction last spring, an annual fundraiser supporting children’s hospitals in California and Nevada. Funds raised during the event are distributed proportionally to 11 hospitals in the two states.
This year’s auction, held in Dana Point, raised more than $1 million for the third consecutive year.
The gala event has raised $6 million since 2006, and Cottage Hospital has received more than $200,000 of those funds over the past five years.
More than 10 million kids enter children’s hospitals like Cottage every year. To provide the best care possible, children’s hospitals rely on donations and community support since Medicaid and insurance programs do not fully cover the cost of care.
Because credit unions are member-owner nonprofits focused on members and their communities, they are driven by a philosophy of helping others. Since the creation of the Credit Unions for Kids brand in 1996, the credit union industry has raised more than $120 million for affiliated children’s hospitals, making credit unions the third largest “corporate” contributor to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.