Northeast Community Credit Union is a primary sponsor of the Elizabethton City Schools Betsy Book Bus.

NCCU donates regularly to the Betsy Book Bus to help support the mission of getting more books into the hands of young readers in Elizabethton. The Betsy Book Bus travels to 13 different neighborhoods in Elizabethton on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer. The Bus stops along the way and gives out free books to children, from newborns to high school students.

“Kids get very excited when they see the bus coming into their neighborhood,” said Program Director Carla Whiles. “The bus is really colorful, and the shelves are full of all kinds of books. I think knowing that it’s coming into their neighborhood to bring them books they get to keep forever definitely gets kids excited.”

Several students experience a summer academic slide in literacy, and that can be because of a lack of access to reading material or a lack of interest in the books they have. This program is designed to build confidence in reading that will carry over into the school year.

The Betsy Book Bus was launched in the summer of 2018 as part of the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation. In 2018, the Betsy Book Bus distributed more than 2,300 books to families in Elizabethton.

Visit www.facebook.com/betsybookbus for more information on the Book Bus’s schedule and routes.

 

Northeast Community Credit Union donated $500 to AdaptoPlay to provide accessible and inclusive play and toys for all children.

AdaptoPlay serves children with disabilities and their families. They are a non-profit, all volunteer program that strives to create an inclusive and independent play environment. AdaptoPlay takes traditional toys, such as ride-on vehicles, and modifies them to meet the individual child’s needs.

“Our vision is a future where play is without boundaries and inclusive for all,” Allie Bourassa said. “We believe that play matters and that every child deserves to play. Our goal is to provide play activities through adapted toys, mobility devices and recreational and sporting activities.”

AdaptoPlay serves children with disabilities from spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, cerebral palsy, amputations, muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular disease, deafness/hearing impairments, blindness/vision impairment and others.

For more information, call 423-930-9114 or visit www.adaptoplay.org

 

Northeast Community Credit Union recently held a ribbon cutting for the new Unaka Branch, a student-run branch located inside Unaka High School.

The Unaka Branch offers an innovative education experience for UHS students. The in-school branch is designed to familiarize students with the proper way to handle money and to provide hands-on learning experiences.

In honor of the ribbon cutting, several of Carter County’s legislators and local politicians visited the school to see the branch in action. U.S. Representative Phil Roe, State Representative John Holsclaw, Carter County commissioners and Carter County school board members all attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Representative Phil Roe praised the initiative for providing students with invaluable hands-on education experiences. Roe told the students this type of education was extremely important to help them safeguard their finances as they grew older and continued their education.

“Student loan debt is at an all-time high,” Roe said.

He continued that student loans are easier to get, but that it didn’t mean students should get them. He encouraged students to explore other options, like scholarships and grants instead of going hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt.

“Some young people have not been able to purchase their first home because they have gotten so deeply in debt with student loans,” Roe said. “Learn to make smart money decisions now and it will benefit you in the future.”

The branch is the first of its kind in Carter County. The Unaka Branch is open two days a week, for two hours at a time to give students the opportunity to take part in unique experiential learning programs.

NCCU President/CEO Teresa Arnold said the opening of the UHS Branch was a group effort involving the Carter County School System, the NCCU Board of Directors and NCCU staff.

“When we presented this idea to the school system, Director Dr. Kevin Ward was immediately interested,” Arnold said. “He said this was something the school system could greatly benefit from and he took it to the school board. They agreed, and we kept moving forward from there. We are so excited to give this opportunity to the students.”

The students will learn to conduct financial transactions and will take park in various campaigns led by NCCU personnel. The lessons are planned to coincide with classroom lesson plans so the students will gain double instruction time on key personal finance topics. Students are learning first-hand about business, customer service skills, the American economic system, personal finance and more.

Students are selected to work in the branch through an “interview” process which includes feedback to help students be better prepared for future job interviews. Students earn community service credits required for scholarships and gain beneficial skills that will help them in the workplace later in their lives.

Northeast Community Credit Union is a sponsor for the Downtown Art Walk hosted by Blue River Studio in downtown Elizabethton.

The Downtown Art Walk was started by Blue River Studio with the goal of bringing more people and business to the downtown shopping district. The Art Walk puts artists in the downtown businesses and features musicians on the sidewalks. Children’s activities are sprinkled through downtown along with food trucks, and several downtown business stay open late for the event.

“When we started the art walk, everyone said what a great time they had,” Art Walk Organizer Karen Hitchcock said. “We do two walks a year and it has grown every time.”

This is the fourth Downtown Art Walk and it will be held on Saturday, March 30. For more information on the Downtown Art Walk, call 585-406-3255.