PenFed Credit Union's Eugene Service Center Announces $20,000 Donations to Local Charities

Court Appointed Special Advocates, United Way, and Ophelia's Place are the Eugene, Oregon recipients of PenFed's first quarter donations

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PenFed Credit Union

Apr 27, 2021, 13:36 ET

EUGENE, Ore., April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PenFed Credit Union, the nation's second-largest federal credit union, announced $20,000 worth of donations to three local Eugene charities. PenFed employees in Eugene selected Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lane County, United Way of Lane County, and Ophelia's Place as the recipients of PenFed's first quarter donations in the region.

PenFed presents CASA with a $10,000 donation. From left to right: CASA Executive Director Heather Murphy, PenFed Director of Service Center Operations Tap Bowman and CASA Development Director Michele Morgan.

PenFed presents UWLC with a $5,000 donation. From left to right: PenFed Community Relations Associate Kari Firth, UWLC Associate Director of Resource Development Mike Tardie, PenFed Director of Service Center Operations Tap Bowman, UWLC Education Program Manager Michelle Sheng-Palmisano, Michelle’s daughter Octavia and PenFed SVP Regional Service Center Chris Martin.

PenFed presents Ophelia’s Place with a $5,000 donation. From left to right: Ophelia’s Place Vice President of Programs Laura Sanchez, Vice President of Development Hadee Sabzalian and PenFed SVP Regional Service Center Chris Martin.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lane County connects volunteers with children in situations of abuse and neglect. CASA's volunteers complete an extensive 10-week training, and work to prevent children from being re-abused by facilitating their move through the court and child protective services systems as quickly as possible into safe, permanent homes. CASA's over 200 volunteers each care for two children, meaning the organization reaches approximately 400 children in Lane County. PenFed donated $10,000 to CASA in support of its mission of providing a voice for abused and neglected children in Lane County, an area in Oregon with one of the highest rates of children in foster care.

"CASA of Lane County greatly appreciates the support from the employees of PenFed," said Heather Murphy, CASA's executive director. "As children emerge from the isolation of the last year, we anticipate a surge in requests for CASA advocacy. We have worked hard to prepare for this demand by training many new CASA volunteers who take cases from our waiting list as soon as they are sworn in. Thanks to the generosity of our community – including this wonderful gift from the employees of PenFed – we continue to grow and advocate for more vulnerable children."

United Way of Lane County (UWLC) is invested in the lives of Lane County's children and families, bringing people together to give, advocate, and volunteer. UWLC has been serving the Lane County community since 1946 through a variety of programs meant to create social change and impact the health, education, and financial stability of families. PenFed donated $5,000 to support one of UWLC's recent initiatives, which is to inspire a love of reading within the rural areas of Lane County. UWLC plans to use these funds to support 36 kids through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides free books on a monthly basis to children from birth to age 5. Today, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program spans five countries and gifts over 1 million free books each month to children around the world.

"Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a beloved program in our community, and we're so grateful for PenFed's contribution," said Noreen J. Dunnells, president and CEO of United Way of Lane County. "Thanks to these funds, more families will be able to enroll in the program, increasing the number of books in children's home libraries and helping nurture their love of reading. It takes all of us, working together, to really improve outcomes for kids in our communities—thank you, PenFed, for investing in children's success."

Ophelia's Place is a prevention-based nonprofit organization based in Eugene that is dedicated to helping girls ages 10-18 make healthy life choices through empowerment, education and support. PenFed donated $5,000 to further the mission of Ophelia's Place to encourage a healthy community of girls in Eugene and ensure that all girls are safe, valued and empowered. Throughout the pandemic, Ophelia's Place was able to support girls with individual and group virtual counseling sessions, as well as creating a YouTube channel with videos of activities, crafts and lessons on self-care. Ophelia's Place has increased its reach after going virtual and now supports girls as far north as Vancouver, Washington.

"We are thrilled that the employees of PenFed Credit Union nominated Ophelia's Place for this incredibly generous gift," said Hadee Sabzalian, vice president of development at Ophelia's Place. "Creating space and offering resources for girls to explore interests, build healthy friendships, and learn the tools they need to be empowered is important work for every girl and their community. Empowered girls change the world, and it begins with partners like PenFed."

As of this month, PenFed's Eugene Service Center employees have completed 2,420 volunteer hours and donated $603,330 to charity since its founding in 1996.

About PenFed Credit Union
Established in 1935, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is America's second-largest federal credit union, serving over 2.2 million members worldwide with over $27 billion in assets. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading certificates, checking, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and a wide range of other financial services. Our mission is to empower members of our community to achieve their financial well-being. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an Equal Housing Lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on LinkedIn. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

SOURCE PenFed Credit Union