It’s all happening at the Credit Union just now,
with our busy season about to start, plus it's "year end" next
Wednesday!
Driffield 10th Anniversary
Last
Wednesday I was proud to attend the celebrations at our Driffield Branch. In my speech I named and paid tribute to
those community-minded residents who founded the branch back in 2005 (at an
event in the Blue Bell Inn) and, joined by others over the years, have run it
with flair and dedication ever since.
Special achievements have included:
·
pioneering
our primary School Banks, which
developed into a model that has successfully spread out across East Yorkshire';
·
playing
a big part in the life of the community, raising funds for a whole host of good
causes including National
Children's Homes, Age Concern, Citizens Advice, Driffield in Bloom, Yorkshire
Air Ambulance, Macmillian Nurses, Friends of Guiding, a local skate park, old
folks' tea and an overseas flood disaster fund.
The
"birthday party" was well attended and it was good to welcome Paul
Rounding of Driffield Town Council (who made the prize draw) and Marc
Hall, Financial Inclusion Officer of East Riding of Yorkshire Council (who
helped me cut the fabulous decorated cake).
Well
done to our Driffield Branch volunteers, and here's to the next ten years!
Lloyds Banking Group
I
was invited to join the managers from the region's Lloyds and Halifax
banking branches at a couple of training sessions to brief them on our
Credit Union. Lloyds Banking Group
recognises that the credit union sector provides a very important service to
many people in the UK and are providing a £4 million fund to support its
development. In 2014 we were successful
in our application for a Lloyds/Credit Union Foundation grant to assist with
our North Lincolnshire merger.
As
part of this ongoing partnership, Lloyds and Halifax have agreed to promote
credit union membership to their customers in a leaflet available in their
branches which highlights our services, for example loans that are not part of
their product range. They are also
interested in sharing business expertise with us by involving bank volunteers
in credit unions. As this initiative
develops, it will help UK credit unions to improve and grow significantly over
the next four years.
Eastern Raiders Football Club - your
team!
The
new football season is now well and truly under way. Many of you will be
following the fortunes of your favourite high-flyers on "Match of the
Day", while fans in these parts will be spurring on the Tigers to
regain their place in the Premier League. However, in this piece it's to the East
Riding County League that I want to direct your attention.
For
HEYCU has just become the proud sponsors of Eastern Raiders FC, an
up-and-coming team in Division Two. The
Raiders are based in Goole but play all over East Yorkshire in their quest for
league and cup victory. They look splendid in their new purple and white kit
featuring our Credit Union name and logo, and it's brought them luck so far, as
the first match – away against Hull’s Apollo Rangers – resulted in a
decisive 3-0 win, followed by an 8-4 victory over Patrington last
Saturday, taking them to the top of the league! You can follow the weekly fortunes of your
sponsored team on our social media pages, so if you are a HEYCU member why not
become a supporter and give them a shout?
Go Raiders!
Christmas is coming . . .
It
hardly seems five minutes since we were on holiday, relaxing in the garden and
enjoying the summer, but now our thoughts are turning to Christmas!
Many
members are already planning ahead and thinking about a Christmas Loan. If you need to borrow say £400 to
spread the cost of your festive spend over the year, you won't find a cheaper
deal than your Credit Union. With
repayments of just £9.18 a week, our loans are many times cheaper than a
doorstep loan, and more convenient, with payments direct from your bank account
or your wages on the day you get your income.
What's more you can now apply on line.
Tell your friends and neighbours. . . why pay more?
Northern Lincolnshire Partnership role
There's
just a few days left to apply to be our Northern
Lincolnshire Partnership Officer. All the details are on our website and if
this interesting role appeals to you, please get your application form in
without delay.
Members' Survey 2015 responses
I've
now replied personally to those members who raised issues in our Members'
Survey that I felt needed an individual response. I promised to share a selection, as you may
find them of general interest, so here goes:
Member's
comment:
"I
actually know nothing about the credit union at all. My Mum is a member and
said it was a good way of saving some money for Christmas. When I went into my local branch I was given
an application form and a receipt for the deposit and that was that. I now pay
in every week by standing order but I still don't know what the CU is all
about. I didn't know it helped the local community, I just thought it was an
easier way of saving money without all the red tape banks usually have. Perhaps
it's my fault for not being more informed but I also don't feel the CU sold
itself to me, and I'd never heard of it before my Mum mentioned it."
Our
response:
"Thank
you for your comments, from the viewpoint of a new member, which make some very
good points. We do want our members to
fully understand what the CU is all about, especially the fact that they are
more than just customers - they are member-owners with various rights and responsibilities.
I am glad your Mum was able to introduce you to us, but you are right we should
tell you what membership means when you join.
If we get it right, you will feel properly informed but not bombarded
with too much information all at once, which some people don't like.
"If
you have access to the internet, you can learn a lot from our website and, as
you have given us your email address, you will be sent twice yearly
E-Newsletters, an invitation to our AGM, and a member survey. As a result of your comments, we have decided to
reintroduce a leaflet called Your Credit Union, which will in
future be given to new members as they join."
Wearable banking devices
I've
heard of people wearing their hearts on their sleeves but never their
bank! According to a publication that
crossed my desk the other day, a major building society is pioneering the use
of an Apple Watch or Android wrist device for customers to check
their balances and move money between accounts.
The wearable app can even be voice activated, so no need to input a
password, you simply speak a command and your balance appears on screen. Since wearable banking arrived on the scene,
the response has been sensational, my source explains.
I
was interested to learn that the society's employees play a big role in shaping
these deveopments. Earlier this year staff took part in a mass trial of the
contactless payment wristband.
Apparently, they were sorry to lose their band when the test ended! What a great idea - if your staff are
enthusiastic about a new product or service it will rub off on the customers.
It's
fascinating how quickly technology is changing everyday life, in ways we'd
never have imagined. Truly amazing!
Someone will be inventing a wheel next, I am sure.
Pennies 2
Pounds School wins a Centre of Excellence in Education award
Congratulations to Spring
Cottage Primary School who were recently awarded excellence status as a
Centre for Financial Education by Young Enterprise. The school
successfully launched their school bank last year in response to requests from
parents for a safe way to save up for expensive residential trips.
The club was initially
offered to Year 5 pupils saving for their special end-of-year outing. Soon
other family members wanted to join, alongside school staff who enjoyed the
convenience of a savings bank at their workplace.
Two pupils volunteered to
help run the bank and were very proud to be given their volunteer badges at the
end of their training. This sparked great interest among the other pupils. The
teachers capitalised on this enthusiasm by running classes in money management.
Soon the word spread
among the local community. We were invited to display information about the
Credit Union at the Summer Fair. This proved to be one of the busiest stalls as
families and local residents were keen to find out more about a safe and
convenient alternative to high street banking. Plans are now underway to
recruit more volunteers and to launch a roll out programme of saving to the
wider school community.
Brownie
Badge for Junior Volunteer
Congratulations to Camille
Jenkins, one of our youngest volunteers for successfully working towards
her Number Fun badge. Camille is a keen
Brownie when she is not busy running the school bank. She was looking for a
project to use her new skills during the school holiday. A Number Fun Brownie Badge is awarded
for:
·
Helping at an event where
you have to collect money and give change;
·
Keeping a record of money
you are given and spend during one month;
·
Knowing how to open a
savings account and finding out about one savings account.
Pennies 2 Pounds offers experience in all these areas.
Perhaps you know a young saver who may also enjoy working towards this award?
Junior Savers Autumn Competition
Watch our website for details of the latest competition for
our Junior Savers. We'll be inviting
them to find out about the currencies used in other countries. Children over
the age of seven will have an additional challenge to draw the flags of the
countries named in the competition. Vexillology is the term given to the
study of flags, a good word to note if you are taking part in a quiz!
Could a Community Account help your club
or group?
We're
getting some great comments from users of our Community Account. Some of our local clubs and groups use it to
deposit the grants they receive from funding organisations such as the Council,
Big Lottery and Comic Relief. One says:
"As Treasurer of our Residents Association I can rest easy knowing that
our funds will be looked after at the Credit Union by people we can trust.
Then, when we need to pay our bills, it's so easy, we just send in a signed
request and the Credit Union sends a BACS payment without us having to bother
with cheques." Worth finding
out more?
