[The following is a paid advertisement.]

As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. With a goal to serve all members well - including those of modest means - every member counts. The movement’s “People Helping People” philosophy causes credit unions and their employees to volunteer in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes.

For example, Rock Valley Credit Union in Rockford rises to the occasion when it becomes aware of new needs in the community and will also involve their members in area outreach. The credit union’s devotion and extraordinary effort to the community in the past year has included donating backpacks to the HOPE Domestic Violence Shelter, hosting food drives to support a local food pantry that lost nearly its entire supply of food for the previous holiday season, and creating the “Gifts of Love” project to fulfill gift requests for the Walter Lawson Children’s Home, a local residence for severely handicapped children.

Rock Valley chooses to give back to the community because that is what credit unions are all about. And their members love that they are part of something different. People before profits – the one principle that remains constant for credit unions – and highly valued by their members throughout Illinois.