We Invite You to Celebrate With Us!
In 2024, McCoy is celebrating our 70th anniversary with 70 Acts of Kindness for our members, our community, and our team. Stay tuned for some fun surprises that we'll announce throughout the year!
On January 13, 2024, McCoy and The Russell Home hosted a Fun Run through Cypress Grove Park. This event served as the return of a much-loved community fundraiser for the nonprofit as well as the kickoff for McCoy’s 70 Acts of Kindness campaign for our 70th anniversary. McCoy donated race t-shirts and a start/finish line timer. McCoy team members gathered silent auction items and worked the event on race day. Additionally, several Boone High School students earned volunteer hours by working the registration tent and the water station. The goal was to ensure no costs were incurred for The Russell Home. The grand total of funds raised – from race registration fees, donations, silent auction funds, and a generous community member’s large donation through our WFTV 9 Family Connection partnership – was $16,111.
On January 24, 2024, Marketing and the Lake Nona Branch participated in Lake Nona Middle School’s STEAM Knight event. This is a new OCPS school partnership for us. The event focused on getting students excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Marketing created a financial education trivia game that engaged both students and parents, encouraging them to learn together.
Oak Ridge High School’s head coach for the Track & Field Program shared a need for student athletes, who are raising money for competition, apparel, and equipment. McCoy donated $500 to help them reach their goal.
On Valentine’s Day, the Risk Management team posted words of encouragement on the bathroom mirror for their fellow team members at the McCoy Road Branch to see throughout the day. Messages included: “There’s no one like you,” “Your ideas matter,” “You can make mistakes,” and “I believe in you,” among many others. With inspiring messages like that, it was impossible to go back to your desk without a smile.
Long-time partner, Servant’s Heart Ministry, requested assistance with the coins they collected during their Penny Parade event.
A representative visited the McCoy Road Branch to process $1,669.34 worth of coins. McCoy waived the coin processing fee to ensure all funds raised from their event could benefit the work of the ministry, saving them approximately $167.
On February 29, 2024, Marketing and the McCoy Road Branch participated in Walker Middle School’s STEAM Night, which focused on getting students excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Marketing provided colorful budgeting worksheets and color changing mood pencils, combining science and math, engaging both students and parents alike.
On March 8, the Marketing team presented a financial education workshop as part of the Matthew’s Hope Moving Forward program. The goal of the program is to assist participants with getting back to a life of financial freedom through a series of financial education courses. At this event, participants learned about credit and loans through an engaging Jeopardy-style game.
On March 29, the Michigan Branch hosted a surprise SeaWorld ticket giveaway. Twenty-nine pairs of tickets were tucked inside coin envelopes on the teller line and drive-thru. When team members saw there were tickets inside the coin envelope they were using, they shared with the member that there was a special surprise from McCoy inside. Branch team members had so much fun seeing the joy on people’s faces. Comments included, “Wow! When we have the members look in their envelope, their faces just light up!” Also, “Giving away the tickets is so much fun!” and, “It’s going great. Members are loving the surprise!”
On March 30, McCoy hosted the annual Spring Shred Day event at the McCoy Road Branch. This Act of Kindness was threefold. Team members from Marketing, Facilities, and the McCoy Road Branch assisted members with safely discarding sensitive paperwork while supporting a local Scout troop that was doing the heavy lifting with a $500 donation and thanking our valued members with McCoy-branded gifts that included car organizers, umbrellas, tumblers, dog bowls, and RFID card sleeves. Overall, we served 341 cars and collected an estimated combined weight of 42,375 pounds of shred.
On April 9, two Marketing team members visited Ocoee High School to volunteer as business coaches with Junior Achievement of Central Florida’s 3DE program. The purpose of this volunteer day was to connect with students and coach them on their presentations for the 3DE National Case Partner, UPS. Each group was in varying stages of their presentations, from creating a SWOT analysis to discussing solutions to the problem that was presented. The students presented their recommendations to the judges at the end of April, and one of the groups that we worked with took home the trophy for the first annual 10.6 UPS Culminating Event.
McCoy sponsored Legacy Events for Education’s scholarship presentation event on April 22 in partnership with Orlando Health. We had the opportunity to speak with students and give the 2nd annual McCoy Cares Community Scholarship to West Orange High School student, Adeline Mueller, for the amazing work she has done with her nonprofit, Operation Shared Shoes, throughout her high school career. We did a special presentation with her at the Ocoee Branch in May.
McCoy also sponsored the West Orange Chamber of Commerce’s Education Awards on April 29 at Windermere High School. President/CEO Alvin Cowans was on stage to present scholarships and medals to the students who were being recognized. A Marketing representative gifted students with McCoy pens and hats as they exited the event.
Throughout the month of April, McCoy encouraged youth members to boost their savings. After the primary member is notified, the top youth saver at each of McCoy’s 15 branches will be provided with a $70 match directly into their account to keep their savings growing.
Team members at the Apopka, Clermont, and Ocoee branches celebrated McCoy’s 70th anniversary on May 3 by giving away cookies to members in the lobbies. Sweet Life Cookies – a small business in Winter Garden – turned the anniversary logo into a delicious treat.
The Marketing team hosted several Financial Education events with longtime partners to continue to build a steady financial foundation for their residents. On May 1, they hosted a Financial Self-Care Day at Woodridge Apartments – complete with activities, giveaways, and money mindfulness tips. On May 7, they treated Overture Hamlin residents to theater-style snacks while they presented on the topic of Fraud and Identity Theft.
McCoy celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week by bringing cookie platters, lemonade, and tea to the teachers at Lancaster Elementary School and Walker Middle School. We hope it brightened their day.
Additionally, several donations were made in May to support varying community efforts. McCoy donated 20 branded hats and carabiners for goodie bags at the Vettes for Vets event hosted by the Central Florida Corvette Association, where an Accounting team member also volunteered. A $500 check was presented to Miss Ocala Teen, Noelle Schnacky, through Hope for Heart Kids, Inc. She will use the donation to purchase crowns and tiaras for her to present to the kids at the Give Kids the World Village Once Upon a Village Party.
On May 23, a check was presented to Foundation for Orange County Public Schools to support the Birthday Bites program for students at multiple Title 1 elementary schools in Orange County. This includes Washington Shore ES, Rock Lake ES, Chickasaw ES, and Lancaster ES, among others. McCoy’s $2,800 donation will ensure that 70 students can celebrate their birthday with their classmates.
In June, McCoy made several donations focused on the credit union’s commitment to veterans and first responders in our community. A $400 donation for the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association went toward the sponsorship of a Heroes Table at the annual Patriot Day Remembrance Breakfast. The cost covers attendance for eight event honorees, nominees, and first responders at this special event. Additionally, a $170 donation was made to the Apopka VFW in support of the Wreaths Across America initiative at the Edgewood/Greenwood Cemetery in Apopka. This donation covers 10 wreaths.
The Marketing team developed two new financial education events to benefit local organizations in partnership with the Taft Community Center. Students with the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida learned about how to reach a savings goal, how to budget, and how to identify different types of financial institution accounts. They were engaged and excited to ask questions that led to great conversations. In honor of Elder Abuse Awareness Month, adults from Seniors First were presented a workshop about how to prevent Identity Theft, which included a short quiz to see how much everyone already knew. The team plans to visit again with new topics in July.
The Ocoee Branch partnered with Southeastern Food Bank all month long to collect much-needed nonperishable food items for students in need. With the help of members, team members, and our community, the Ocoee team filled an entire barrel as well as several additional bins to ensure students had access to healthy food items during their summer break.
In July, we had our first act of kindness focused on supporting students for back-to-school initiatives. McCoy donated $1,000 to Apopka Spring Hill Church of Nazareth’s Annual Backpack Supply Drive. The donation went toward purchasing school supplies, such as backpacks, notebooks, pencils, pens, scissors, erasers, folders, crayons, highlighters, rulers and more, for K-12 students in the Apopka community.
On July 24, the Marketing team presented a financial education workshop focused on “Adulting 101” with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida – Taft Branch. Youth in the program learned about what credit is, how to build credit, and the different parts of a credit score. The presentation also included information about managing a full-time job and living on their own in the future.
On July 25 and July 26, we celebrated McCoy members by hosting an ice cream party in branch lobbies. Kelly’s Ice Cream carts were set up at the Hamlin, Lake Mary, Maitland, and Michigan branches. Members were invited to enjoy a scoop of chocolate, vanilla, butter pecan, mint chocolate chip or mango sorbet when they stopped by for their banking needs.
On August 1, the Marketing team visited the Holden Heights Community Center to talk to the Holden Heights Successful Seniors group about Identity Theft. The seniors shared stories of scams they avoided by asking family members before responding to strange emails or text messages. Then, on August 7, the team volunteered at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children’s Back to School Bash. They hosted the math table, where children staying at the hospital played several games promoting addition, subtraction, and strategy to win fun prizes.
As teachers at Lancaster Elementary School and Pine Crest Elementary School prepared to welcome students back to the classroom, McCoy treated them to breakfast. We hope that the bagels, fruit, tea, and lemonade kept them energized for a successful school year. McCoy’s Operations team also made a special delivery to Lancaster Elementary before the first day of school. For their annual back-to-school donation, they delivered 480 crayons, 360 composition books, 420 highlighters and markers, 670 folders, 40 staplers, 150 glue sticks, 96 clipboards, and 150 headphones and earbuds.
On August 6, Team McCoy spent an afternoon volunteering at Southeastern Food Bank’s food storage warehouse. They sorted donated items, from canned goods to water, snacks, baking items, paper products, and more. The items were then placed in shipping boxes for distribution. On August 13, they spent another afternoon volunteering with Servant’s Heart Ministry through a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank. They helped receive and sort 2,700 pounds of food donated from local grocery stores for about 220 families, including 110 cartons of eggs, 4 cart loads of bread and 45 pounds of frozen meat that was bagged and prepared for distribution.
Throughout September, the Lake Mary Branch collected nonperishable food items to support Pine Crest Elementary School’s food pantry for students in need. Additionally, McCoy purchased $500 worth of food items from Second Harvest Food Bank to stock the school’s pantry. The donation included 96 1-ounce cereal bowls, 24 3-ounce Ramen packages, 24 15-ounce cans of vegetables, 12 12-ounce jars of peanut butter, 12 10.5-ounce cans of soup, 24 5-ounce cans of chicken, 12 19-ounce bottles of strawberry jelly, and 24 7.25-ounce boxes of macaroni and cheese.
The Michigan Branch also hosted a food drive in September. They collected items for United Against Poverty, a nonprofit that experienced flooding in its Member Share Grocery Program facility and Marketplace at the beginning of the month.
On Sept. 14, McCoy’s Marketing team had the privilege of attending Honor Flight Central Florida’s orientation lunch for the Fall 2024 flight to Washington D.C. They met the veterans who took the flight, along with their guardians, and helped serve them refreshments, lunch from Mission BBQ, and dessert. All McCoy Branches and Departments participated in making thank you cards for each veteran to open as a surprise during the Mail Call activity that took place on the Sept. 28 flight.
McCoy celebrated Neonatal Nurses Week with the NICU team at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies on Sept. 16 by surprising them with a celebratory lunch. Boxed lunches from Chick-fil-A and refreshments from Publix were provided to thank them for tirelessly providing life-changing care for newborn babies and their families in our community.
On Sept. 17, McCoy’s Marketing team visited with children at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children for the Childhood Cancer & Sickle Cell Awareness Month Carnival. They played a ring toss game with patients to entertain and encourage them. Patients had a choice of prizes, stickers, story books, and a financial word search they could play later as well. It was wonderful to see their smiles and watch them having fun.
In October, two McCoy branches held collection drives for local organizations. The Chickasaw Branch collected nonperishable food items for the Christian HELP Employment and Resource Center. The Lake Nona Branch collected coffee, snacks, and household items for military and veteran families staying at Fisher House Orlando while their loved one is receiving treatment at the Orlando VA Medical Center. Lake Nona’s collection drive will run through November.
McCoy partnered with Legacy Events for Education and Hi-Lite Coaching + Consulting to present a “How Money Works” workshop for middle and high school students at the Roper YMCA on Oct. 24. Students learned about budgeting, saving, financial institutions and accounts, as well as how to write a check. They also saw how credit scores works in action by playing a credit focused Jenga game.
On October 26, the Marketing Team joined participants of the Fall Honor Flight at their reunion event. McCoy sponsored lunch from Mission BBQ, and team members served beverages and cake as the veterans shared stories of their trip to the memorials in Washington D.C.
McCoy also sponsored lunch for Commissioner Mayra Uribe’s Spooktacular Stroll event on Oct. 26. Families enjoyed a slice from Marco’s Pizza while trick-or-treating around Cypress Grove Park. McCoy helped purchase 83 pizzas for this event.
The McCoy Cares Foundation donated $5,000 to Hamlin Elementary School’s media center to help them fill their library. Members of the Marketing team and the Hamlin Branch joined President/CEO Alvin Cowans at the school to present the donation in early November. At that time, the faculty was surprised with a match from an anonymous Hamlin business that brought the grand total of the donation to $10,000. This collaboration helped the school meet the AASL recommended standard of 15-20 books per student.
McCoy had three new financial education events this month. First, the Marketing team taught budgeting and credit lessons at the “How Money Works” Workshop, presented by Legacy Events for Education and Hi-Lite Coaching and Consulting, at the Dr. Phillips YMCA. Later in the month, a volunteer from the Marketing team taught 5th graders at Pine Crest Elementary School during their Teach-In event on November 12, while the VP of Business Relations shared tips for reaching financial goals with students at South Seminole Academy for their Teach-In event.
The Ocoee Branch and the Hamlin Branch hosted collection drives for Matthew’s Hope. Warm clothing, shoes, blankets, and other items were collected to ensure homeless men and women had what they needed during a period of cold weather. The Ocoee Branch also collected nonperishable food items for families served by Southeastern Food Bank.
McCoy held the annual Fall Shred Day event at the McCoy Road Branch. Through this event, a donation was made to a local Scout troop that volunteered to assist members with unloading their vehicles and discarding sensitive paperwork in the shred truck. Additionally, Shred Day kicked off McCoy’s Toys for Tots collection drive. A full box of toys was collected.
A $1,500 donation was made to Basket Brigade of Central Florida to support the organization’s efforts to provide a Thanksgiving meal to families in need. This donation helped 30 Central Florida families. McCoy also donated $4,000 to the Nemours Child Life Program to support the hospital’s Elf Workshop for families in their care. This donation helped to purchase supplies that families will use to wrap presents received at the Elf Workshop event in December. We celebrated Member Appreciation on November 25. The Lake Nona, West Orlando, Curry Ford, and Chickasaw Branches served Krispy Kreme donuts to members who visited on that day.
