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by: June 13th, 2013 3 Responses

Big News from The Cooperative Trust: Just ONE more day!

Hi friends -

The Cooperative Trust is going to have a bigtime announcement coming up on June 20th!

We know a whole week of holding in a secret can feel like a lifetime, so we decided to provide a countdown video to keep you busy and prevent you from having sleepless nights through next week.

If that doesn’t help – keep an eye on the countdown on our homepage and consider counting down with us through Twitter and Facebook – more to come soon!

by: June 7th, 2013 0 Responses

Southern Grassroots Economies Project Wants YOUR Support!

Are you ready to show your support for southern grassroots co-operative organizing? If not, it’s time to consider.

Why?

The South has been home to intensely exploitative and dehumanizing economic structures since the founding of this country.
The declining US economy heightens the importance of this work, but it did not create it.
Southern Grassroots Economies Project came into being to bring the energy, idealism and justice orientation of the southern freedom struggle to the current needs for economic development along cooperative lines of democratic ownership and control.
We need your support. We know that as cooperators we should all uphold principle 6 of cooperation among cooperatives. This should extend to building and strengthening the cooperative movement.

How did it start?

We began with a meeting at Highlander Research and Education Center in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee, then after much working and planning we held a much larger gathering called “CoopEcon 2012” at the Rural Training Center of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Epes, Alabama.
Since the spring of 2011 there have been growing numbers of southern social justice activists and cooperativists who have gathered to talk about building a new economy in the South that is rooted in ideas of cooperation and justice rather than competition and greed

Who does Southern Grassroots Economies Project work for?

Our work is consciously centered on engaging directly with those most affected by the economic crisis and least likely to benefit from any efforts at recovery
- Women, youth, African Americans, poor whites, immigrants and native Americans in rural and urban settings in the South form our core constituency.

What is CoopEcon 2013?

We are now working to organize CoopEcon 2013 to be held October 4-6 again in Epes, Alabama.
- This year we are planning to have 125 folks from the 14 state areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia

Who is CoopEcon 2013 for?

We will have two tracks of participants: those who already are engaged in cooperative economic enterprises and want to strengthen and expand them on the one hand and those who are looking to learn how to start such enterprises on the other.
- This is not a conference for developers, although we are sure some will come. This is mainly meant to get down with how to go home and do the work of building in our communities for jobs and community wealth.

How much should I and/or my organization give?

We need you to help spread the word, and we need your material support. If you are a small and struggling co-op or credit union, we need $25. If you can afford it we need $2500. Any contribution helps build our solidarity and makes this movement possible and worthwhile. You can make your payment online here or check by mail to: Southern Grassroots Economies Project, 2769 Church Street, East Point GA 30344.

by: Aimee Johnson June 7th, 2013 0 Responses

May Resolution Challenge

May was a great month to re-engage with this resolution:

“Realize when you are not engaged and re-engage. Turn off the television, turn off the cell phone, and pay attention to the people around you”

Sometimes in a world where technology is everywhere its hard to tune out of it and focus on what’s going on around you….That’s what made this month so hard!

The Trust Family did things like:

*Tech free nights with no cell phones/computers

*Spending times in the weekend to get out in the world and not touch those pesky PDA’s

*Focusing on family and children and putting away those games we know and love

*Engage in life in work and outside of work, slowing down and enjoying what’s happening around you

*Turning phones off completely or “airplane mode” setting aside time in the day to focus on the present

*Stopping focusing on social media and re-runs on TV

*instead of emailing, talk to the person, going to see them directly

These tactics seems to really get the point of this month’s Resolution! Stepping away from what we all find as comfort and a way to stay “connected” is a hard thing and I know this month it was really hard for me to do this, but though I didn’t accomplish whole days without technology, I was able to start reconnecting! I enjoyed time with friends hiking, and time by myself getting back in focus.

I think that I will continue re-engaging throughout the year and really work on myself. Hope this helped out other like it did myself!

by: May 7th, 2013 2 Responses

Remembering Richard “Doc” Heins

The credit union system lost a good soul last week. We have Edward Filene to thank for our supporters namesake and for our mantra, but without Richard “Doc” Heins, none of us would be where we are today.

Edward A. Filene once said “Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something still better.” Doc lived these words, pushing us all to see beyond what is there and explore new possibilities. We’ll miss him and recognize that we in part honor his legacy in the work we do today at Filene.

Read more on Doc’s legacy from Mark Meyer here.

We’ll miss you, Doc.

by: May 2nd, 2013 0 Responses

APRIL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE: CHANGING YOU

During April, our community challenged each other to:

“Pick one characteristic about yourself that you’d like to change and earnestly work on changing it.”

My fellow Trusters came up with a marvelous list that included:

- Relaxing more and not being such a worry wart

- Being more focused and not getting distracted by squirrels that stray our attention.

- Being more optimistic and thinking of ways on how challenges can be overcome.

- Pledging to focus more on the positive things people are doing versus getting overwhelmed with all the “stuff” that comes up every day.

- Truly being happy, not just outworldly showing happiness.

- Thinking before speaking.

In all honesty, it is hard to change your behavior in such a short period of time such as 30 days. I think what a greater accomplishment can be is first self identifying something you wish to change within yourself and remain dedicated and committed to do what it takes to make it happen. Kudos to all of my fellow young leaders in taking on the April Leadership Challenge with open arms and full hearts.

I know I haven’t fully changed the behavior of “thinking before speaking” as it’s a behavior that is has been entrenched in my soul for a long time. I have been more conscience of it however, and several times this month I have been able to put the brakes on my lips like Fred Flinstone stopping at a red light.

When we can consciously make an effort to stop the old behavior and replace it with the new, change can happen.

by: danemery April 29th, 2013 0 Responses

American Community Project: The Beginning

During my seven years at the credit union, I received opportunities to work on a variety of initiatives both internally and around the community. The primary focuses of these initiatives were ending hunger, bringing awareness to financial education (k-12, adult) and increasing community support and development.

The thing that stood out to me the most was the significant amount of hunger in our community and the need for good, healthy food.

Hunger needs aren’t always easily noticed. It isn’t on the news very often; maybe around Thanksgiving and Christmas there will be a story or two, but it’s a relatively quiet topic considering how vital and present it is.

There are food banks and shelters in Kennebec and Somerset counties (in Maine) reporting annually that they are seeing increases, sometimes significant increases, in the number people (both adults and children) seeking assistance. Some additional scary statistics are:

statewide, 1 in 4 maine children do not receive the nutritious food they need.
according to the good shepherd food bank - 40,000 people a week were provided with food assistance last year.
and in 2012, maine was ranked 19^th in the country for the number of households experiencing food insecurity; 14.7%. While our ranking dropped from 9 in 2009 to 19 in 2012, our need didn’t drop. The needs in other states increased.

Volunteers at the annual Walk to Stop Hunger help load non-perishable food into a van for a local food bank.

I wonder why the need is so significant considering we are living in a time of incredible technology, information and ability. We have the ability to utilize these tools to do and create amazing things or to solve problems – look anywhere online.

So, what can we create that would make hunger obsolete? The obvious solution to hunger is growing more food and getting it to people who do not have enough. But, if it’s that simple why is it still such a significant issue? What is it about this problem that makes it so difficult to solve?

This interest and curiosity fueled the idea for the American Community Project (ACP). The ACP is about exploration and while there are other areas of exploration involved in this project, exploring hunger is the primary focus.

Myself and a group of friends will be leaving Maine shortly after the beginning of 2014 to begin a cross-country journey – 48 states in 48 weeks – to explore hunger needs throughout the United States. The trip will begin in Massachusetts on January 5^th and finish in Maine on December 6^th.

We’ll be traveling from state to state on mopeds to visit farms, food banks, shelters, schools and community organizations to talk to them about hunger. In each state we’ll be raising awareness about hunger needs – the challenges, the solutions and the stories.

At the end of the 48 week trip the funds raised by the American Community Project will be donated to one organization in each state for the purpose of funding an agriculture-based hunger solution.

Get involved!

Share this blog and the american community project with your friends, family and colleagues.

Support the ACP by making a donation.

“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.” ~Thomas A. Edison

by: Harmony Paulley April 23rd, 2013 0 Responses

MARCH LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE: GRATITUDE

During March our community challenged each other to:

“Write a note to someone who inspires you but probably doesn’t know it.”

This resolution is about gratitude. Several thoughtful members reached out expressing their gratitude to former teachers or mentors. The results of reaching out to people who have made a difference in our lives makes a huge impact upon others. In many cases a person would have never known the great difference they’ve made unless the effort is made to tell them. What better way, than writing a hand-written note?

While it’s important to look back and thank those who have helped us become the person we are today, it is also important to express gratitude towards the people currently in our lives. A great example of a leader who has done this was shared by member of the community; the story of former Campbell’s Soup CEO Douglas Conant, who is known for writing notes to all of his 20,000 employees across the globe. This short video highlights celebrating contributions, making the notes specific & personal, and the great results. We could easily be doing this at our credit unions.

Hand written notes are a rare commodity, and are more important now than ever. Let’s continue connecting & sharing notes of gratitude.

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