Virginia Credit Union Members, Employees Volunteer Together at Shalom Farms

CONTACT:
Glenn Birch
Virginia Credit Union
(804) 560-5664
glenn.birch@vacu.org

Nearly 100 Virginia Credit Union employees and members joined in a community service project by installing fencing, building a mobile garden classroom and participating in other farm projects at Shalom Farms on June 1.

The event, held from 9 a.m. – 12 noon on Saturday, June 1, completed critical projects for the nonprofit that will enable it to expand its mission to provide healthy, fresh food to people in the community who need it. A video highlighting the volunteer effort may be viewed on the Virginia Credit Union website.

“This volunteer day will do a lot for the Westwood Farm. With that much volunteer help, we should be able to improve our operations and infrastructure, plant and weed existing crops, and construct a mobile blackboard where we can teach kids and volunteers about growing healthy food,” said Dominic Barrett, executive director.

Shalom Farms works with communities to ensure access to healthy food and the support to live healthy lives. Shalom Farms produced more than 400,000 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables in 2018 with the help of 16,500 hours of effort from almost 6,000 thousand community volunteers.

Virginia Credit Union members responded to its call for volunteers and filled all available slots in a few hours. About 30 of the nearly 100 volunteers who responded were Virginia Credit Union employees.

“As a cooperative organization, Virginia Credit Union is interested in creating opportunities for members, employees and the community to work together in meaningful projects,” said Glenn Birch, director of public relations for Virginia Credit Union. Shalom Farms depends on volunteers and has been a natural partner for us.” The work day will be the second member-volunteer project the credit union has organized at Shalom Farms.

About Virginia Credit Union

A financial cooperative serving more than 280,000 members, Virginia Credit Union offers a variety of affordable banking services, loans, mortgages, and free financial education resources, with a focus on helping people be more confident with their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA. For more information, visit www.vacu.org.

About Shalom Farms

Shalom Farms works with community-based partners to get fresh produce to the individuals, families, and programs that need it most. Shalom Farms distributes produce to enhance existing services, deliver to local corner stores, and host weekly farm stands at participating partner sites. For more information visit https://shalomfarms.org

# # #