American Eagle Financial Credit Union has announced the recipients of its ‘Cash Back to the Community’ program for the second quarter, and among them is the West Hartford-based Seniors Job Bank.

By Ronni Newton

American Eagle Financial Credit Union has made a commitment to donate to nonprofits, choosing three local organizations each quarter to to receive the funds from its participatory program “Cash Back to the Community.”

The West Hartford-based Seniors Job Bank is one of the the winners in the second quarter contest, selected from among more than 240 organizations nominated and 4,447 votes case by AEFCU members and the general public. Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford in Hartford and the Hamden-based Quinnipiac University Dance Marathon were also selected, with each organization receiving $6,575 to further its mission.

The Seniors Job Bank, which was created in 1974, is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that connects men and women over 50 years old seeking work, with businesses and households seeking workers. SJB maintains a registry of approximately 650 job seekers, collectively offering about 150 discrete skills and abilities for blue- and white-collar roles.

When a company or homeowner needing to staff a position calls, SJB identifies registrants qualified to handle the role, then provides contact information for several appropriate candidates to be evaluated by the client. The client and candidate selected for the job directly negotiate the terms of the assignment: its duties, expected results, hours, and compensation.

The Seniors Job Bank does not charge a fee – to the job seeker or the client – for facilitating the referral. While all the job seekers are over 50, clients may be of any age.

“American Eagle‘s donation is especially welcome now, as the COVID-19 virus crisis has made fundraising even more challenging than it usually is,” said Bernie Weiss, president of the SJB Board of Directors. “The money will help us continue to connect folks over 50 seeking work with businesses and households that have work to be done,” he said.

“There were 242 nonprofits competing for American Eagle‘s donation, and although we were one of three winners, the Seniors Job Bank actually finished at the very top of the list.” Weiss added. “So I want to say thank you to everyone who voted for us.”

To learn more about the organization, join the list of SJB job seekers, or to find one of them to fill a job, call the Seniors Job Bank at 860-521-3210, email [email protected], or consult www.sjbct.org.

AEFCU said that through Cash Back to the Community, it has been donating 1% of its credit and debit card interchange income to three nonprofit and/or 501(3)(c) organizations each quarter. Each time a member uses their AEFCU credit or debit card, it adds to the total donation fund, and at the end of the quarter the three top qualified nonprofits split the proceeds.

AEFCU said in a news release that through the first two quarters of 2020, the Cash Back to the Community program has provided $40,266 to nonprofits statewide.

“Cash Back to the Community has become a very popular and effective way to invite our members and public to play an active role in our philanthropic efforts.  The program’s second quarter total votes of 4,447 was 215% higher than the previous quarter. We encourage the public to continue playing an integral role in selecting worthy nonprofits to receive our funding,” Dean Marchessault, president and chief executive officer of American Eagle Financial Credit Union., said in a statement. “As Connecticut’s largest community-focused credit union, we are always concentrated on making the places where we live and work better, and responding quickly during critical times,” added Marchessault.

In the first quarter, West Hartford nonprofit organization Friends of Feeney was one of the recipients.

Nominations for third quarter recipients of Cash Back to the Community will begin on July 27 and run through Aug. 16. American Eagle members and the public will be able to vote for third quarter recipients of Cash Back to the Community between Sept. 7-20, via American Eagle’s website or social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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