This year’s International Credit Union Day, on October 20, takes the theme, “Empower Your Financial Future with a Credit Union.”
The campaign is run by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). Credit unions around the world will organize contests, fundraisers, open houses, contests, picnics, volunteering activities and parades.
Celebrated every year since 1948 on the third Thursday of October, the day is an opportunity for the sector to reflect on its history and raise awareness of its work.
“There are still 1.4 billion people across the globe who are unbanked,“ said WOCCU president and CEO Elissa McCarter Laborde. “Credit unions truly have the perfect business model to empower their financial future and that is a message we hope our entire global movement will celebrate and promote.”
WOCCU has also released the official posters and logos for the day, which are available at woccu.org/icuday.
Likewise, CUNA offers a range of free resources for credit unions wishing to educate consumers about their work. These include a design bundle, which allows credit union customization, a customized video and merchandise such as shirts, cups and piggy banks.
“Ultimately our goal is for more people to understand the important role credit unions play in their community,” said Megan Crowson, manager of consumer engagement for CUNA. “If we can encourage someone to reach out to a credit union for help on their financial journey, then this program was a success.”
To mark the day, WOCCU’s charitable arm, the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, launched Empower, a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that aims to engage at least one credit union from each U.S. state to collectively raise $500,000 to grow the international credit union movement through the work of WOCCU.
The foundation wants to collect and share 100 stories of member empowerment locally, nationally and internationally across social media.