Live in El Paso long enough and you’ll soon find that the weather, among other things, is unlike anywhere else. The hot, June sun brings with it 100 degree temperatures and a playful wind that allowed El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union to host its first ever ‘Kites for Kids Day.’ The summer celebration was among many firsts for our credit union family, from the launch of social media, to our emerging partnership with the City of El Paso, 2010 has been a year of exhilarating transformation.

We know that we could not exist without the faith and support of our membership, and so we’ve spent the past year giving back to a community that has given us so much.

In addition to the outdoor, kite flying festivities, we launched our first-ever Summer Writing Contest. These days a degree can be out of reach for many families as the cost of a college education continues to soar. According to a UCLA nationwide survey of college freshmen, nearly one-third of the 271,000 freshmen surveyed are attending schools that were not their first choice. That’s the highest percentage since 1988. Of those students who were accepted but didn’t go to their first choice college, more than one-third said money was the issue: they couldn’t afford it.

In an effort to help alleviate some of the financial burden, we asked El Paso students to write a 500-1000 word essay over one of three topics. Entries poured in from both high school and college students and choosing a winner was definitely not an easy task. In the end, Karina Canaba a UTEP student, and Yasmeen Nicole Hernandez, our winner in the high school category received $1000 to use towards their education. We received a large amount of positive feedback from thankful students throughout our community inspiring us to continue the contest every semester. We at EPEFCU plan to continue this contest for both the spring and fall semesters, in addition to the myriad of other scholarships we already provide.

Aside from providing local students with financial aid, we also wanted to provide a place for them to interact with us via the internet. So, for the first time, EPEFCU joined the world of social media to establish a connection with members of these online communities. The credit union now has a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, and a Blog filled with free financial advice that is updated twice a week. Fans and followers of our Facebook and Twitter accounts receive exclusive updates about the daily credit union on goings and special promotions. This online presence has now become an extension of our member service, the links to our social media sites can be found on our home page at www.epefcu.org.

Educating our members as well as the rest of the community is especially important to us. We want to be able to offer valuable resources that will help the people of El Paso achieve financial freedom, so this year we offered six free financial seminars throughout the year. The early months of the year brought anxious members of our community ready to learn. We held seminars that covered IRA’s, Home Equity Loans, and even a presentation from Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

It’s been a rough road for financial institutions; we’ve seen the rise and fall of the United States’ largest bank, but despite the hardship facing many, EPEFCU continues to flourish, thanks to you. Make sure to check out all of the exciting plans we have for 2011 inside!