Category: Borrower Stories
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How Karla Villanueva Grew Her Gymnastics Studio with Her Credit Union’s Support
Karla Villanueva-Bernal has been passionate about gymnastics and practiced the discipline throughout her life. Her dream of opening her own gymnastics studio was finally realized in 2012 when she and her husband started what was then called Karla’s Gymnastics. Karla started teaching one class every Saturday in the All Saints Red Barn, a multi-use space…
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How Kaua’i Federal Credit Union’s Rent Relief Program Has Stabilized Local Small Businesses—And Local Culture
The COVID-19 pandemic turned Chef John Paul Gordon’s life upside down. One day, John Paul was an executive chef catering to Kaua’i’s tourists, the next day, he was unemployed. After more than 20 years of being a chef, John Paul felt like COVID-19 stole his identity away from him overnight. Despite wanting to get back…
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How Freedom First Credit Union Is Leveraging Creative, Character-Based Lending To Approve Community Members For Auto Loans
When Norma Fralin needed a car in 2016, she didn’t know where to go. She’d never felt comfortable navigating dealerships and interacting with used-car salesmen, and because there were uncertainties surrounding her credit, Norma didn’t know what kind of auto loan she’d be able to get. That’s when Norma’s daughter, Catina, told her about Freedom…
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How Jayme Murray is Creating Food Sovereignty for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
Long before the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation was established in South Dakota in 1889, the people of the Lakota Nation sustained themselves off of the land, with the buffalo, or American bison, as its primary source of food. Over a century later, tribal ties to the sacred animal still run strong. The Cheyenne River Sioux…
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Meet David Akinniyi, the Baltimore Developer who’s Transforming his Adopted City with Each New Building
Once down on its luck, Baltimore, Maryland is now on a rebound. One entrepreneur helping to make the city a better place to live is David Akinniyi, founder and owner of the Akinniyi Group, a real estate development and leasing company. His goal is to enhance the lives of Baltimore residents by creating luxury communities…
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Meet Flywheel Development, The Company Striving To Create Sustainable Communities In Washington D.C.
Jessica Pitts and John Miller founded their company, Flywheel Development, in 2014 to implement sustainability concepts and renewable energy in and around Washington, D.C. With backgrounds in policy, planning, and energy services, it was clear to both Jessica and John that industry leaders have a big impact on progress towards achieving sustainability goals on a…
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How Riff Raff Brewing Company Remains Down-to-Earth As Its Earth-Powered Beer Takes Off
Like most homebrewers, when Jason Cox began making his own beer in 2005, he daydreamed about one day becoming a professional brewer. Despite aspiring to make the leap from hobby brewer to full-time brewer, Jason wasn’t quite ready. At the time, he operated his own software company, but in his free time, he continued to…
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Meet DREAM, Where Students Are Family, Families Are Community, And Community Is Front-And-Center
Harlem RBI was founded in 1991, when a group of volunteers transformed an abandoned, garbage-strewn lot into two baseball diamonds for the youth of East Harlem. Over the years, the organization began to address the greater needs of its community, including low literacy and high school graduation rates, through its summer and afterschool enrichment programs.…
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Meet Chung H Lee, The Small Business Owner Helping New York Metro’s Graying Residents Age In Place
It was 2014, and Chung was tired of traveling for work. The business consultant’s job required him to travel around the globe, but Chung was tired of sitting in airports and sleeping in hotels. He wanted to work closer to home and be able to spend more time with his kids. Armed with years of…
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How First Southwest Bank Is Helping Community Banks Become Better Banks
In 2013, Kent Curtis had a question to answer. As the president and CEO of First Southwest Bank, he wanted to know which direction to steer the financial institution, which has served the San Luis Valley for more than 100 years. Colorado has three persistent poverty counties, and First Southwest Bank is located in the…