Alliant Assists Charities with Spring ’11 Civic Affairs Initiatives

06/14/2011

Chicago based Alliant Credit Union's Civic Affairs Committee planned and coordinated several springtime charitable initiatives, which received outstanding support from Alliant employees and provided assistance to worthwhile charities. Events included:

March Madness Chili Day
On March 31st Civic Affairs partnered with Alliant's Employee Events Committee to raise money for Special Olympics Illinois. $1,750 was contributed by Alliant employees through chili lunch donations and college basketball tournament raffle ticket sales. This amount topped last year's successful Chili fundraiser, which had a Super Bowl theme.

March Madness Chili Day activities also included a Chili cook-off competition among participating Alliant employee chefs. Alliant and Special Olympics chili judges sampled and voted on the recipes. First place went to Alliant Lending VP Jerry Anderson for his delicious Carne Del Fuego.

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Alliant President & CEO David Mooney presents a $1,750 employee donation to Special Olympics Illinois. Pictured left to right are: Alliant Chili Day Co-coordinator Sherry Allen, Special Olympics Area Director Dan Conley and Global Messenger Megan O'Connor, Alliant Chili Day Co-coordinator Janet Meinheit, along with Mr. Mooney.

Spring Fling Clothing Drive
During April, Chicago area employees participated in Alliant's 4th Annual Spring Fling Clothing Drive. Alliant employees contributed hundreds of gently used clothing items, which were donated to the National Children's Cancer Society.

Y-Me Breast Cancer Race

Several of Alliant's Y-Me Race volunteers assemble at the Grant Park, Chicago race site. (Left to right) Kevin Daly, Cindy Valenzuela, Angelica Garcia, Sandy Beckman, Deb Transier and Albert Obay. They were among 30 people from the credit union to raise money for the Y-Me charity as part of the United in Pink (United Airlines) team.

30 of Alliant's Chicago employees helped raise nearly $4,000 by volunteering to walk or run on Mothers Day in the "Y-Me Race". This annual event raises money to benefit those affected by breast cancer. For the fifth consecutive year, this highly successful Civic Affairs initiative was coordinated by Alliant employees Jackie Bessert and Albert Obay, with Kevin Daly being added to the event's leadership team this year.

Alliant Credit Union Foundation donated $100 on behalf of each employee who volunteered to participate on the United Airlines "United in Pink" Y-Me Race team. The airline is a major sponsor of the race each year. In addition, Alliant employees donated $700 by purchasing special Alliant Y-Me Race backpacks.

Operation North Pole Fire Truck Pull
On a rainy day in mid May, nearly 30 Alliant employees had fun raising money at the Operation North Pole Fire Truck Pull. Two teams of Alliant volunteers each pulled a 40-ton fire truck across a parking lot in Des Plaines. Alliant's Foundation paid the employees' $50 registration fees, totaling $1,500 as a grant to help fund this year's Operation North Pole Fantasy Flight, to be held at O'Hare Airport in December to benefit seriously ill children in the Chicago area.

Several members of the Alliant Advocates Fire Truck Pull team drag a 40-ton fire engine at an Operation North Pole fundraiser held in Des Plaines, IL. Pictured left to right are Alliant employee volunteers Ed Herr, Susanna Hoff, Michael Reyes and Forest Hanson.

Big Summer Activities, Too
Civic Affairs will kick off the summer through involvement in two June events, with the help of participating Alliant employees. These include;

The 3rd Annual Prescott Service Day, with volunteers painting, planting and doing other fix-up duties at Prescott Elementary, Alliant's partner in the Chicago Public Schools Corporate Partnership program. Civic Affairs will coordinate Alliant volunteer participation and provide a free lunch for all volunteers 
Bob Panzino Memorial Golf Outing for Pediatric Cancer, with Civic Affairs paying $50 of each Alliant participant's $110 registration donation.

Later this summer Civic Affairs will sponsor Alliant's 6th Annual Employee Volleyball Tournament to raise funds for a worthwhile charity. The committee will also organize Alliant's 6th Annual School Supplies Drive, with various departments at the credit union donating for the purchase of much needed school supplies for students attending a school in a primarily low income neighborhood in the Chicago area.

Civic Affairs also works closely with Alliant's Foundation, arranging charity donation opportunities and reviewing/recommending grant requests from charitable organizations.

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