The Best Ways to Give Back This Season

It is the season of giving and there is a multitude of ways you can make the holidays a little happier for those around you. Here are the best ways you can give back and spread cheer!

Volunteer Opportunities

Great places to volunteer this time of year are food shelves and homeless shelters. As the cold weather sets in, these places experience higher volumes. They also have an influx of donations around the season of giving so they need extra volunteers to sort and manage these items.

If you are looking for the right opportunity to volunteer, you can get matched with local organizations at volunteermatch.org.

Local Love

If you feel like giving back in a more personal way, consider helping locals in your area that are struggling. If you know a family with young kids struggling financially, consider giving them toys to gift their children when they can not afford to buy them. Adopt a family through a charitable or religious organization to give something that specific family needs, usually clothing. Consider small acts of kindness to spread joy like shoveling a neighbor's driveway, making your coworkers cookies unexpectedly, or inviting someone lonely for dinner.

Bank With Financial One

To give back on a larger scale, consider banking with Financial One. We are committed to serving our community's needs, which is why we stick to our Social Promise.

When you choose Financial One for your home loan, we provide 1 night of housing for someone homeless. When you open a checking line-of-credit, a veteran in need receives one coat. Lastly, when you open an auto loan with Financial One, we donate 100 lbs of food to the local food shelf. This program has allowed our credit union and members to give back in a big way!


The best ways to give back during the holidays are easy to find when you know where to look. The best thing about giving back is that you aren’t limited to the holiday season. Commit to giving back to your community all year round.

How will you be celebrating the season of giving this year?

Our Social Promise: Financial One’s Essential Donations and Sponsorships

Financial One Credit Union believes in the value of lending a hand in our community. We work with many nonprofit organizations to provide food, shelter, and clothing through our Essentials Program. In this program, we vow to do three things:

1. Provide 1,000 pounds of food to a local food shelf for each auto loan we fund
2. Provide one night of housing for to someone in need to match each home equity loan we fund
3. Provide 1 coat to a veteran in need for every checking line of credit we open. 

In 2016, Financial One gave a total of $93,806 to donations and sponsorships of local non-profits. We donated 136,892 lbs of food, 269 nights of shelter, and 184 clothing items. If you visit our site today, you’ll see those numbers continue to grow, as we continue to keep our Social Promise.

Hope 4 Youth

Gov. Dayton proclaimed October 10th of last year as #PlusItForwardDay in Minnesota. On this day, more than half of our staff participated in cleaning Hope 4 Youth's facility, learning about the wonderful things they do and enjoying a meal together. This day was meaningful and impactful to all involved, which inspired us to call it 1 With Our Community Day.

We were also able to donate 30 nights of shelter to people in need to the Hope 4 Youth Organization.

Coat Delivery

Although homelessness has been on the decline in the last few years among veterans, the statistics are still far above the general population. At Financial One, we want to honor the service of these brave men and women and show our support. Thanks in part to our coat drive, the Department of Veterans Affairs of Minnesota was able to provide the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans with needed coats for veterans facing financial hardship and transitioning to sustainable housing. We delivered 150 coats to the VA hospital to be given to veterans in need and continue to support our military members in the community.

The North Anoka County Emergency Food Shelf (NACE)

NACE is more than just a food shelf; it provides food, clothing, crisis packs, holiday meals, birthday packs, and delivers to the immobile in need in Northern Anoka County. For an organization that does so much good in our community, we were more than happy to provide 25,000 pounds of food to NACE.

 

Stepping Stone Emergency Housing

Stepping Stone is a temporary housing organization that caters to men and women of Anoka County - some as young as 18 years old. They offer safe living space and support for at-risk and homeless people in the community. We were happy to fund 100 nights of services to Stepping Stone Emergency Housing.


At Financial One Credit Union, we are committed to living our mission: To improve the financial well-being and peace of mind of our members and others within the communities we serve. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer or make a donation, visit our website to learn more.

Become a Beer Connoisseur at the Fifth Annual Hops for Hunger Event

The time has come for the fifth annual Hops for Hunger event! The event takes place March 25th at the Solar Arts Building in Minneapolis. Proceeds will go to the Southern Anoka Community Assistance Food Shelf and Thrift Store.  

Join us from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for beer selections from 21 local brewers, delicious food from Chowgirls Killer Catering, music by Analog Drifters & The Travelin’ Mobury’s, a silent auction, and a beer wall. For ticket information, visit hopsforhunger5.eventbrite.com.

At this year’s event, make it a goal to become a beer connoisseur! Use our simple guide below to learn how to taste and distinguish beers like a pro:

Know Your Beers

If you have tried certain beers in the past and didn’t like them, take this chance to try out some new beers. Beer can come in a nearly endless variety of styles. With common domestic and foreign beers as well as hundreds of microbreweries, there’s a solid chance that the perfect pint is out there waiting for you. Take a look at this Huffington Post beer guide for a quick lesson on some of the more common beer types.

Pour it Out

Pouring your drink into a glass will help release the aromas and CO2. This will help you better experience the full flavor and body of the beer.

Check the Temperature

Drinking beer at the correct temperature can change the way you experience a beer. While a cold one straight from the fridge can be an undeniably satisfying treat on a warm day, many lighter beers—lagers, pilsners, and blondes—actually taste better at 33-45 degrees. Dark and strong beers, like stouts and porters, are best at room temperature. And in case you need a reminder, chill your beer instead of icing it or drinking it from a frosted glass, both of which can spoil the flavor.

What Aromas do You Smell?

Your sense of smell is an important factor in how you experience certain events, and with beer tasting, it’s no different. When tasting a beer, begin by swirling it around in the glass. This stimulates and releases carbonation that can help carry the aroma up to your nose. What notes can you detect? Caramel? Coffee? Does it smell like citrus, pine, or florals? These notes all tell you something different about the beer.

Check Out the Appearance

With a well-poured beer, there are certain features that can clue you in on the quality. If a beer has a good head retention, (the foam doesn’t collapse) it is an indication that it’s a well-crafted beer. If your beer leaves a “Belgian lace” pattern indicated by a lace-like pattern on the glass, this is another sign of a quality-made beer.

Tasting Time

Similar to wine tasting, there can be many complex notes in your beer. Swirl the beer in your mouth before consuming in order to take note of the flavors. Let it coat your tongue and the top of your throat before swallowing. How intense are the flavors? Is it well-balanced? What is the mouthfeel like? Mouthfeel can describe the texture and weight of a beer. Is it light or heavy? Is it too carbonated?

What’s the finish?

Take a second after you finish your sip. Is it sweet or bitter? What taste lingers in your mouth? How intense is it? Does any taste linger at all? Most importantly, was it satisfying? This will tell you a great deal about your brew.

Financial One Credit Union is a proud sponsor of the fifth Annual Hops for Hunger event. We hope to see you this year, and hopefully, we were able to give you some new tricks to taste each delicious brew!