You and OCCU: a force for good

At OCCU, our vision is to enrich lives. Those of our members, of course, and our team. But also our community at large. 

We’re people helping people, after all. But the most exciting part is watching those people help other people. We see that every day as people reach their financial goals and support local businesses. And we see it through your incredible support of the OCCU Foundation. Together, we’re building happier and healthier communities. Together, we are a force for good. 

Let’s take a moment to celebrate our recent efforts in 2024. 

OCCU once again participated as a silver sponsor in Relief Nursery’s Dodge for a Cause event. This annual community dodgeball tournament raises funds and awareness for Relief Nursery’s childhood development and parenting programs. OCCU fielded two very enthusiastic employee teams, and, while neither triumphed, both enjoyed the opportunity to support this local nonprofit’s critical resources for local families. 

We also reupped our partnership with the Bethel Education Foundation to restock its OCCU Foundation food and resource pantries for west Eugene students. The sites, located at Cascade Middle School and Fairfield Elementary, are stocked with essential household items like soap, toothbrushes, cleaning supplies and diapers and wipes. In addition, the program funds snack packs for local food insecure students. These resource pantries and snack packs are simple programs, but they serve more than 5,300 students each year. 

In the wake of the ice storm that walloped our region earlier this year, OCCU Foundation set up a fund to help those affected. In total, OCCU Foundation gave more than $40,000. Of this total, $20,900 was divided among 121 OCCU team members who applied for assistance, based on their need. Another $20,000 went to local food banks and mobile pantries that lost tons of perishables due to the loss of power. Learn more about our ice storm relief efforts here. 

So far this year, OCCU team members have logged nearly 600 hours under our volunteer time-off program. Employees have not only participated in events like Dodge for a Cause, they’ve also showed up for day-to-day volunteering, like:

• Organizing goods with FOOD for Lane County. 
• Tidying up Salem streets through the Adopt-a-Street program. 
• Distributing dinners for Meals on Wheels in Roseburg. 
• Assembling hygiene bags for the HIV Alliance. 
• Cleaning books for Oregon-wide SMART Reading. 

We’ve also recently released our foundation’s 2023 impact report, which details the ways OCCU Foundation gave back to the community in 2023. Learn more here. 

All this and more are possible because of the generosity of members like you. Since its start, OCCU Foundation has donated nearly $3 million in charitable gifts. 

Are you ready to join us in building happier, healthier communities? Check out the OCCU Foundation page to learn more.