Amy Hyder, special education teacher at Elizabethton High School, is the latest Northeast Community Credit Union Helping Teacher’s Teach winner.

 

Hyder applied for the Helping Teachers Teach grant to purchase supplies so her students can plan, shop and prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. Hyder works with 16 students with varying degrees of disabilities, from moderate to severe. One of the goals of her classes is to help students learn and develop life skills, like planning for and cooking a Thanksgiving meal.

 

“This will allow them to use many of the skills they have been working on this year,” Hyder said. “They will plan a menu, learn about budgeting and have a first-hand experience in the grocery store, and ultimately prepare the food. Being able to walk through all these steps will help my students become more prepared for life after high school.”

 

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.

Here’s how it works:warning charity fraud

Someone contacts you asking for a donation to their charity. It sounds like a group you’ve heard of, it seems real, and you want to help.

How can you tell what charity is legitimate and what’s a scam? Scammers want your money quickly. Charity scammers often pressure you to donate right away. They might ask for cash, and might even offer to send a courier or ask you to wire the money. Scammers often refuse to send you information about the charity, give you details, or tell you how the money will be used. They might even thank you for a pledge you don’t remember making.

Here what you can do:

  1. Take your time. Tell callers to send you information by mail. For requests you get in the mail, do your research. Is this a real group? What percentage of your donation goes to the charity? Is your donation tax deductible? How do they want you to pay? Rule out anyone who asks you to send cash or wire money. Chances are, that’s a scam.
  2. Pass this information on to a friend. It’s likely that nearly everyone you know gets charity solicitations. This information could help someone else spot a possible scam.

Please report scams. If you spot a scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Call the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or TTY 1-866-653-4261. Or, go online at ftc.gov/complaint.

Your complaint can help protect other people. By filing a complaint, you can help the FTC’s investigators identify scammers and stop them before they can get someone’s hard-earned money. It really makes a difference.

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.

Check Presentation

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 Chancery Court accepting donation for National Day of AdoptionCarter 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 logoReader’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 Betsycheck presentation 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, presentscheck presentation 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 check presentationinclusive 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