East Tennessee Christian Home and Academy will be having their annual shoe drive from January-May 2020. They are accepting all shoes in any condition except for spiked high heels. Shoes should be either tied or rubber-banded together and placed in a large plastic bag secured with duct tape.
All shoes can be delivered to ETCHA, 517 Allen Avenue, Elizabethton. For more information, contact ETCHA at 542-4423.
Nikki Garland presents Megan Heaton with her Helping Teachers Teach check.
Nikki Garland, Collections Coordinator of Northeast Community Credit Union, presents the Helping Teachers Teach grant check to Megan Heaton, art teacher at Unaka Elementary School.
Heaton applied for the Helping Teachers Teach grant to purchase art supplies to prepare for a school-wide art show in November.
“I believe artwork is a source of reflection for my students,” Heaton said. “Art is one of the many ways students are able to express themselves freely in a safe environment. Some students may not even realize the talents they have unless opportunities like this are presented to them.”
Northeast Community Credit Union awards $300 every month to a classroom to be utilized for classroom needs, classroom activities, and academic enrichment. Helping Teachers Teach is open to teachers within Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, Sullivan and Washington counties who are members of Northeast Community Credit Union. Area teachers may become members at any NCCU location and can download the grant application on the credit union’s website: www.BeMyCU.org.
Northeast Community Credit Union is helping collect items for the Assistance Resource Ministry 
Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Collection barrels have been placed at the NCCU Main Office, 980 Jason Witten Way; and at the NCCU 19E Branch, 1321 Highway 19E Elizabethton.
Nonperishable food such as canned and boxed goods are being collected at both locations through October. Donations can be brought in to either office during regular business hours.
Northeast Community Credit Union is helping to support The National Day of Adoption to be hosted by 
Carter County Chancery Court this fall. In past celebrations, more than 30 children have been adopted by local families.
Each year, the National Day of Adoption takes place in an upper East Tennessee County. This year, that celebration is being hosted by the Carter County Chancery Court on Saturday, November 23 at 10 a.m. at the Carter County Courthouse.
On this special Saturday session, the Court will conduct adoption ceremonies for several children from Carter County as well as surrounding counties. Tennessee is number 1 in the nation for adoptions. At the past celebrations, local families have adopted as many as 33 children.
This will be a day of joy and excitement for all. The National Day of Adoption is open to the public.
Northeast Community Credit Union was once again voted Best Credit Union in the 
Reader’s Choice Contest of the Elizabethton Star.
Thank you to everyone who voted us Best Credit Union again this year!
Northeast Community Credit Union is a primary sponsor of the Elizabethton City Schools Betsy
Book Bus.
NCCU donates regularly to the Betsy Book Bus to help support the mission of getting more books into the hands of young readers in Elizabethton. The Betsy Book Bus travels to 13 different neighborhoods in Elizabethton on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer. The Bus stops along the way and gives out free books to children, from newborns to high school students.
“Kids get very excited when they see the bus coming into their neighborhood,” said Program Director Carla Whiles. “The bus is really colorful, and the shelves are full of all kinds of books. I think knowing that it’s coming into their neighborhood to bring them books they get to keep forever definitely gets kids excited.”
Several students experience a summer academic slide in literacy, and that can be because of a lack of access to reading material or a lack of interest in the books they have. This program is designed to build confidence in reading that will carry over into the school year.
The Betsy Book Bus was launched in the summer of 2018 as part of the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation. In 2018, the Betsy Book Bus distributed more than 2,300 books to families in Elizabethton.
Visit www.facebook.com/betsybookbus for more information on the Book Bus’s schedule and routes.
Seth Miller, Data Operations Manager, of Northeast Community Credit Union, presents
the Helping Teachers Teach grant check to Tyler Chambers, Chemistry and Physics teacher at Cloudland High School.
Chambers applied for the Helping Teachers Teach grant to purchase hot plates for his classrooms to use in experiments. The hot plates will replace Bunsen burners, which use live flames and are rarely used in classroom settings now.
“This will enhance the students’ learning experiences,” Chambers said. “They’ll be using lab equipment that is more efficient and what students will use in college.”
Northeast Community Credit Union awards $300 every month to a classroom to be utilized for classroom needs, classroom activities, and academic enrichment. Helping Teachers Teach is open to teachers within Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, Sullivan and Washington counties who are members of Northeast Community Credit Union. Area teachers may become members at any NCCU location and can download the grant application on the credit union’s website: www.BeMyCU.org.
Northeast Community Credit Union donated $500 to AdaptoPlay to provide accessible and 
inclusive play and toys for all children.
AdaptoPlay serves children with disabilities and their families. They are a non-profit, all volunteer program that strives to create an inclusive and independent play environment. AdaptoPlay takes traditional toys, such as ride-on vehicles, and modifies them to meet the individual child’s needs.
“Our vision is a future where play is without boundaries and inclusive for all,” Allie Bourassa said. “We believe that play matters and that every child deserves to play. Our goal is to provide play activities through adapted toys, mobility devices and recreational and sporting activities.”
AdaptoPlay serves children with disabilities from spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, cerebral palsy, amputations, muscular dystrophy, neuromuscular disease, deafness/hearing impairments, blindness/vision impairment and others.
For more information, call 423-930-9114 or visit www.adaptoplay.org
Northeast Community Credit Union donated $300 to the Watauga Lake Sailing Club to help
sponsor the upcoming Veteran’s Regatta on June 8 at 12 p.m.
The Club treats local veterans to a day on the lake. They can either help crew on a sailboat or take a ride on a pontoon.
“We work with the Mountain Home VA in Johnson City. They bus the veterans over to us,” said Anita Remme, Watauga Lake Sailing Club. “And all veterans are welcome to participate, but they must contact us in advance to arrange participation since we have limited space on the boats.”
No sailing experience is necessary for those who wish to participate in the regatta. After the regatta, Remme said the club hosts a celebration with live music and provides dinner to all participating veterans.
The goal of the regatta is to introduce veterans to sailing as an outlet to help with whatever injuries or illnesses they face. The event also allows veterans a chance to socialize with their comrades as well as meet new people in the community.
Northeast Community Credit Union recently held a ribbon cutting for the new Unaka Branch, a student-run branch located inside Unaka High School.
The Unaka Branch offers an innovative education experience for UHS students. The in-school branch is designed to familiarize students with the proper way to handle money and to provide hands-on learning experiences.
In honor of the ribbon cutting, several of Carter County’s legislators and local politicians visited the school to see the branch in action. U.S. Representative Phil Roe, State Representative John Holsclaw, Carter County commissioners and Carter County school board members all attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Representative Phil Roe praised the initiative for providing students with invaluable hands-on education experiences. Roe told the students this type of education was extremely important to help them safeguard their finances as they grew older and continued their education.
“Student loan debt is at an all-time high,” Roe said.
He continued that student loans are easier to get, but that it didn’t mean students should get them. He encouraged students to explore other options, like scholarships and grants instead of going hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt.
“Some young people have not been able to purchase their first home because they have gotten so deeply in debt with student loans,” Roe said. “Learn to make smart money decisions now and it will benefit you in the future.”
The branch is the first of its kind in Carter County. The Unaka Branch is open two days a week, for two hours at a time to give students the opportunity to take part in unique experiential learning programs.
NCCU President/CEO Teresa Arnold said the opening of the UHS Branch was a group effort involving the Carter County School System, the NCCU Board of Directors and NCCU staff.
“When we presented this idea to the school system, Director Dr. Kevin Ward was immediately interested,” Arnold said. “He said this was something the school system could greatly benefit from and he took it to the school board. They agreed, and we kept moving forward from there. We are so excited to give this opportunity to the students.”
The students will learn to conduct financial transactions and will take park in various campaigns led by NCCU personnel. The lessons are planned to coincide with classroom lesson plans so the students will gain double instruction time on key personal finance topics. Students are learning first-hand about business, customer service skills, the American economic system, personal finance and more.
Students are selected to work in the branch through an “interview” process which includes feedback to help students be better prepared for future job interviews. Students earn community service credits required for scholarships and gain beneficial skills that will help them in the workplace later in their lives.