Our Credit Union Vol. 6 | No. 9 (69) | Year 2019 September 2019 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE POLISH & SLAVIC FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Dear Members, members with our products will, as al- Army’s victory over the Soviet Army in ways, be our priority. the Battle of Warsaw. On September 1, we In May of this I encourage you to take advantage of reminded thousands of tourists and re- year, our Credit special promotions that we offer to you sidents of New York about the 80th anni- Union’s assets ex- every month. They are always very pop- versary of the German invasion of Poland ceeded $ 2 billion ular with our members. For example, and the outbreak of World War II. An ad and in August, the I would like to mention that over 3,200 sponsored by our Credit Union, remind- number of PSFCU members took advantage of the last 2-year ing of this tragic event, was displayed on term share promotion, which ended on the largest video screen in Manhattan’s members reached August 31, with total deposits of nearly Times Square. the 100,000 mile- $110 million. Traditionally, in October - Finally, I would like to invite you to stone. At the end of October, we are plan- the Polish Heritage Month in the US, we commemorate General Kazimierz Pulaski ning the launch of another branch in will offer you other attractive promotions, by participating in the 82nd General Pu- Orland Park, IL; it will be sixth PS FCU about which you will be informed in the laski Parade in Manhattan or the 86th Pu- branch in Illinois and our 20th altogether . near future. laski Parade in Philadelphia, which this Thus, 2019 proves to be a particularly sig- Thanks to a very good financial condi- year will be held on Sunday, October 6. nificant year in the history of our institu- tion, our Credit Union is involved in many Our Credit Union will be there, as it has tion. We owe this consistent and steady projects cultivating Polish culture, tradi- been for many years. growth to your loyalty and trust, which tions and history. August and September our Credit Union has been enjoying for are significant months in the history of Sincerely, over 40 years. Poland: on August 1 we commemorated In a few weeks, PSFCU Board of Di- the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, on Bogdan Chmielewski rectors and the Management will start August 15 the anniversary of the Polish PSFCU President/CEO working on the Strategic Development Plan of our Credit Union for the coming years. As always, when making long-term We Are One Hundred Thousand Strong! decisions, we will take into account the 2019 is a special year in the history of The foundation of the successes achie- economic situation in the United States the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union. ved by our institution is primarily the and the world, the demographics of the A few months ago, our Credit Union loyalty and trust of our Credit Union Polish community in the USA, but above achieved an impressive $2 billion in as- members. PSFCU was founded at the end all the needs and opinions of our mem- sets. In the month of August, PSFCU of 1976 to provide financial assistance to bers, which we obtain, among others, crossed another milestone - the number of members of the local Polish community through marketing research. We will defi- nitely continue the current direction of our Credit Union members exceeded one in the Greenpoint district of Brooklyn be- stable growth of the Credit Union’s assets, hundred thousand. This is another great cause at that time they had problems ob- along with the extension of the geograph- success achieved by PSFCU this year. ...continued on page 2 ical footprint of our operations. The high level of service and satisfaction of PSFCU PSFCU In Numbers information as of July 31, 2019 Assets 2,006,252,387 Loans $1,139,710,580 Net Worth $202,724,034 Number of Members 99,854 Our Credit Union | September 2019 | 1.855.PSFCU.4U (1.855.773.2848) | www.psfcu.com We Are One Hundred Thousand Strong (cont.) ...continued from page 1 Credit Union entered the state of Illi- taining loans from commercial banks nois by opening two branches in Mt. to buy or renovate homes. Over the Prospect and Norridge, followed by past forty-three years, our Credit Union a branch in Bridgeview in 2011. As a has grown to become the largest ethnic result, already in 2014 the number of credit union in the United States and PSFCU members exceeded 80,000. Five the largest Polish financial institution years later there are over a hundred outside of Poland. thousand of us. The development of our Credit As an expression of gratitude for the Union has been very dynamic from loyalty and trust of the 100,000 PSFCU its very beginnings. After ten years of members, our Credit Union funded at- operation, PSFCU already had 17,000 tractive prizes, which are drawn rando- members and $125 million in assets. mly among the members of our Credit It took nearly a quarter of a century Union over the period of 100 days. The to cross the milestone of 50,000 PSF- end of this campaign is planned for CU members – it happened in the year October 31 with the drawing of three 2000. A very rapid increase in the num- main prizes - Samsung LCD TVs. ber of PSFCU members occurred after “Road to 100,000 Members” Drawing 2010. At the beginning of that year, our PSFCU Member Pilgrimage With Our Credit Union Over the last few years, the PSFCU has kilometer journey, 7,000 arrived at the pilgrimage. PSFCU employees from the been a sponsor of the annual pilgrimage Merrillville shrine. A closing mass at Midwest branches also represented our to the Sancturay of Our Lady of Czesto- the Sanctuary was attended by 14,000 Credit Union at the festival booth in chowa in Meriville, IN. This year, an people - both the pilgrims and other Merillville on Sunday. astounding seven thousand people par- participants, mostly families. Fr. Kras, ticipated in the 32nd annual pilgrimage on behalf of President Duda, present- PSFCU Member marching all the way from Chicago, IL. ed the red and white Polish flag, a gift Runs for the During mass honoring the feast of from President Duda, asking that this the Virgin Mary at the Vatican, Pope flag be “displayed with pride and joy Polish Senate Francis encouraged all to renew their - as a manifestation of devotion to Po- faith—this sentiment sums up the gen- land and an expression of our identity. eral theme of the two day pilgrimage. As a sign of the wonderful heritage of Five thousand pilgrims attended the previous generations, whose taking al- mass celebrated at the southern out- lows us to build a mature and creative skirts of Chicago by honorary guest community.” Fr. Zbigniew Kras, the chaplain of the In addition to the financial support, President of Poland Andrzej Duda. the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Individuals joined the pilgrimage Union also provided drawstring back- along the way and by the end of the 52 packs) to 1,000 people attending the It is our pleasure to announce that PSFCU member, Dr. Marek Rudnicki (pictured above) is a Polonia candidate running for the Senate of the Republic of Poland. 2 Our Credit Union | September 2019 | 1.855.PSFCU.4U (1.855.773.2848) | www.psfcu.com Apply for a PSFCU VISA® Credit Card Being a member of the Polish & Slavic card also rewards cardholders with a lu- can enjoy additional benefits such as Federal Credit Union comes with the crative loyalty program, where rewards loyalty rewards program, auto rental luxury of having options. 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