Mid Oregon Credit Union Members Raise More Than $5,900 for Youth Literacy

Posted by Alyse Knudsen on May 17, 2024

Mid Oregon's La Pine branch staff presented the funds raised to SMART Reading. La Pine earned top bragging rights, collecting $1,700 in donations from their community.

Mid Oregon Credit Union’s inaugural SMART Reading fundraiser raised more than $5,900 with 100% of funds staying in each of the six Central Oregon communities where they were collected to support in-school reading engagement programs.

In April, Mid Oregon’s members and the community generously made donations at credit union branches, online, and over the phone. Many chose to write on cut-out books, sharing favorite book titles, authors, quotes, and encouragement for young readers.

SMART Reading donations were also accepted during Mid Oregon’s annual Free Shred event on April 20. On that day alone, $1,490 was raised and over 7,700 pounds of documents were shredded for more than 270 participants in Bend, Madras, Prineville, and Redmond, Ore.

With more than 60% of Oregon third graders currently not meeting reading benchmarks, this is a critical time for improving literacy rates. “Mid Oregon Members and SMART Reading committed to make an impact to improve literacy in Central Oregon’s communities,” said Kyle Frick, VP of Marketing and Community Relations at Mid Oregon. “We are consistently impressed by the generosity of our members in support of these valuable community initiatives.”

Posted in Community Impact, Oregon, Regional Member News.