Walking for Babies at the March of Dimes

What do employees of Horizon Community Credit Union do when they're not at work?  Many of us are active in community and charity events!  This past Saturday, a team of employees and family members from HCCU took a chilly stroll through Ashwaubenon to support the March of Dimes.  We believe in this great organization and the work that it does for babies and mothers.  

The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  From the March for Babies website (www.marchforbabies.org):  “When you walk in March for Babies, you give hope to nearly half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We’ve been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2.3 billion to benefit all babies.”

The Horizon Community team would like to give a big thanks to all who sponsored us with donations!   Thanks to you we surpassed our fundraising goal of $500, raising $665 to help fund this important work!   

NEW On the Horizon: A Blog Revival!

Have you ever had a question and thought “I wonder if I’m the only one who doesn’t know that” or “Is that a stupid question to ask?”  Finances can be tricky.  It’s easy to feel like somehow everyone else has the answers, while you just scratch your head. 

 

What’s the difference between a credit union and a bank?   Do I have the best accounts for my needs?  How much do I need for an emergency savings?  What is a good rate on a loan?  How do I know if I even qualify for a loan?  I want to buy a new car…now what?  What are the hidden costs to owning a home?  How can I teach my kids to be smart with money?  What do I do if my wallet gets stolen?  What’s considered a good credit score?  What’s MY credit score?  

At Horizon Community Credit Union, our mission is to “Achieve Member Success”.  We’re here for you!  No question is stupid or silly if it helps you understand something better or make a smarter choice – plus, chances are, if you’re wondering about something so are lots of other people!  So don’t be sheepish, ASK AWAY!  Our goal is not just to be your financial institution, but to be your lifelong trusted financial partner.  A place you can go for advice and sound information.  A company who helps you succeed financially and reach your goals.  A company who is there for you through the ups, and maybe more importantly, the downs.  A company who puts you first, before profits.  YOUR credit union.  

We’re available in person, on the phone, via email, through online banking…you could even fax us if you really wanted to.  And now, we are reviving our blog to bring you helpful financial tips, insightful information for the questions  you might feel too shy to ask (but really, stop it, no one’s judging!), and to give you a peek into HCCU, our staff, and our local community.  So put us to work for you – and we DO work for YOU, our shareholders, after all – and let us know how we can help you achieve financial success!   

It's International Credit Union Day!

We hope we (and credit union's everywhere) have a great turn out! In our lobby we are giving away treats and other fun things to our great members! Stop in at your credit union today to celebrate! Did you know that by being a credit union member, that also makes you an owner? Credit Unions are not for profit organizations dedicated to helping our communites and the people in them! We hope to see everyone a member of a credit union! To see more of what we're doing and to get some other great info, please check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/horizonccu and don't forget to like our page! Our main webpage is full of info and can walk you through membership and eligibility requirements! Check it out! www.horizonccu.com! MEMBERS MATTER MOST!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the very first post of our Horizon CCU blog! We're very exicted to start this new blog so that we can connect with even more members and get some new, exciting information out there. If there are any questions you would like to see us answer, please submit them to us so we can review them :) You can also follow us on facebook by going to facebook.com/horizonccu and twitter by going to twitter.com/horizonccu
remember to subscribe to our blog for all of our awesome updates!

Well it's that time of year again, with the holidays right around the corner and so many people in need, we've kicked off our stock the shelves campaign. Any money donated by the campaign is matched by JJKeller foundation and local credit unions so any money donated is multiplied by three!!! And all non perishable food items are donated to several local pantries. This is a great, simple way to get involved in your community. What charites are important to you?

As a short end off for the first post of this blog, I wanted to leave everyone with some quick tips on how to avoid account fraud, an article which will be covered more in depth in another post on this blog.

1) Don't give out your account information over the phone or mail to anyone that you can't verify. The credit union will never call you and ask for your account information. We would already have that information, so be careful when putting it out there over the phone, online, or in the mail. Remember, once it's out there you can't take it back!!!

2) Don't fall for certain money laundering schemes. You probably didn't win the mexican lottery. The crown prince of Nigeria doesn't want to give you a million dollars if you help him out. If you sold something on craigslist or ebay and accepted a cashiers check for waaay more (or any bit more at all) than the final sale of the item and the buyer asks you to send any of it back, don't accept the check. This is a prime example of money laundering and you get stuck holding the bag for the bad check. No one wants that! A good rule to stick to is to only accept cash for these transactions, even money orders can be forged. Be wary of wire transfers for sale of items as well.

3) If you are going to be doing purchases online, and who doesn't these days, be sure your computer has a good antivirus program. You want to avoid anyone getting your account info and credit/debit card info online, so making sure a site is safe is a huge priority. If you can't afford a good antivirus, AVG antivirus can be downloaded for free online and can also help protect against harmful spyware.

4) Sadly, not everyone you meet online can be trusted. Be cautious of anyone you meet online on dating websites or even penpal websites that asks for money or suspicious personal information. With online dating being a huge way to meet someone, it's best to be careful. A lot of people can have very sad stories, some of them may be legitimate, but remember! The best way to find love won't be to offer the first person you see money or to pay for some expense they claim they need. We all want to help everyone we can, but just remember scam artists are good at what they do and a geniune person won't be asking you for money outright like that.

Well, that's it for the day!
Hope everyone has a good weekend!