Together We Can Keep the Good Going

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For more than 10 years, Tech CU has partnered with Family Giving Tree, whose mission is to inspire community kindness, generosity and volunteerism by fulfilling exact holiday wishes and providing backpacks filled with STEAM-based school supplies to those in need.

Despite the immense wealth in Silicon Valley, more than 800,000 Bay Area residents are living at or below the poverty line, with one out of every four children living in poverty. This means that many in our community can’t afford to provide toys and books to their children during the holiday season and are unable to afford basic school supplies.

For the past 10+ years, Tech CU has hosted yearly backpack builds and holiday gift wrapping parties, hosted holiday drives to collect holiday wishes and school supplies and spread the word through public service announcements.

Like most nonprofits, Family Giving Tree has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and all the necessary restrictions that have been put in place as a result. Everyone is now looking at an uncertain future unfolding with unpredictable timing. Family Giving Tree's Holiday Wish Drive and Back-to-School Drive leverage thousands of volunteers, hundreds of Drive Leaders, and general public participation on a large scale, so these restrictions have made the drive more challenging but also more necessary.

We believe in their organization and have seen the tremendous good they have done in the world. That is why we were thrilled when they applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with us – allowing us to support their mission in a less conventional way. We were able to quickly grant a loan. In their words: 

“Seeking a safety net to enable us to weather this unusual situation, Family Giving Tree approached Tech CU with its application for the PPP loan offered by the Federal Government to help small businesses like ours. Having missed out on the first round of funding, Family Giving Tree knew that partnering again with Tech CU–who knows us so well–would help, and so it did. Family Giving Tree was pleased to learn that it was awarded a loan and we offer our sincere thanks to Tech CU for their commitment to securing our good fortune.

From all of us at Family Giving Tree, we thank Tech CU for everything they do for us, their customers, and the community at large. We look forward to continuing our partnership to help those who struggle. And in these strange times, that help is needed now more than ever.”

We look forward to supporting their mission for many years to come, which also means supporting them now. Family Giving Tree’s backpack drive has begun. Whether students from low-income families head back to the classroom or learn at home, they still need necessary school supplies. So please join us in our support. Donate a backpack online at https://www.techcu.com/donate/. Together, we can point thousands of children toward a brighter future.