Teachers Credit Union Shows Community Support with Annual Day of Caring

Teachers Credit Union Shows Community Support with Annual Day of Caring

Teachers Credit Union celebrated their Day of Giving Monday at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Merrillville. The store is focused around home improvement items that are donated and lightly used such as appliances, furniture, accessories, and building materials. ReStore receives hundreds of these types of items every week and must sift through what can be resold at a quick pace due to the influx of donations. TCU decided to station themselves at the ReStore on their day of giving back to be a part of that process.

Carrie Upchurch, Service Center Manager at TCU and Captain of the volunteer site, spoke about their Day of Giving.

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TCU-Day-of-Giving-2018-02“Corporate wide, every TCU has decided to close down today. We are all volunteering based on the communities in which we live. Everyone who works in Lake County branch is here, and there’s about twenty of us,” Upchurch said.

TCU-Day-of-Giving-2018-03TCU’s volunteer efforts included sifting through donated bins full of miscellaneous items that ranged from silverware to toasters. They also spent time decorating Christmas trees with lights and ornaments to sell as a whole to customers for the holiday season. At a second location in Valparaiso, Northwest Indiana TCU team members partnered with Housing Opportunities and helped with general cleaning and painting for people in need.

District Manager at both Griffith and Merrillville locations, Kim DeRisi, spoke about the mission of ReStore and details about their operation.

TCU-Day-of-Giving-2018-04“The ReStore’s help fund Habitat for Humanity builds in Lake County. We get things donated, and we recycle things; people are very generous. Even though something has been used, it doesn’t mean it’s useless,” DeRisi said.

Linda Bartolomei, a TCU teller of thirteen years, expressed that she loves to spend time with her co-workers while working towards a better community.

TCU-Day-of-Giving-2018-05“We are very connected. You have to give back in life, if you can just do a little for someone or something it makes you feel like a million bucks. We are so happy for this today,” Bartolomei said.

“We’ve been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for a few years now. We are trying to give back in the communities in which we serve. It’s a part of our core values to be community committed,” Upchurch expressed.

Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live and the volunteer efforts of Teachers Credit Union and so many others make that vision possible. If you are interested in Teacher’s Credit Union, and the work that they do, visit https://www.tcunet.com/