Kindness

St. Mark's Episcopal Church Food Distribution Center

The Visions Binghamton North office in New York donated Visions tote bags filled with over 150 food pantry items, as well as special “celebration” bags, as part of an act of kindness that coincided with our internal 2023 Anti-Hunger Games initiative. Our employees not only did the food shopping, but they also came in early to bag everything into tote bags for easy delivery. The food pantry serves over 40 families in the Chenango Bridge area.

Healthy Baby Network

Our Rochester office in New York purchased over $1,000 worth of items in support of Healthy Baby Network's upcoming community baby shower. Items included many of the essentials for new parents - diapers, wipes, pacifiers, teethers, bibs, and more! Additionally, the team purchased a highchair, car seat, stroller, and pack n' play - all of which will be given out to attendees. Healthy Baby Network connects parents to various resources and ensures that everyone has access to the information and support needed to bring a healthy baby into a nurturing home.

Berks County Department of Veteran Affairs

Visions employees from our Muhlenberg, PA office initiated an Act of Kindness donation to the Berks County Department of Veterans Affairs. Items donated included ties, handkerchiefs, tactical flashlights, and mortar-style water bottles. Berks County Department of Veterans Affairs helps administer an array of benefits programs for the veterans of Berks County.

My Brother's Keeper Quilt Group

Based out of Dryden, NY, this group of retirees has been meeting weekly since 1992 to provide handmade sleeping bags for the homeless. My Brother's Keeper Quilt Group repurposes fabric from blankets, curtains, flannel sheets, and mattress pads, while using neckties for carrying straps. The group enjoys coming together to socialize, and the purpose of their work is to help the less fortunate have a place to sleep and stay warm. Visions surprised the group with $1,000 in gift cards to a local craft store so they can purchase an additional sewing machine and needed supplies.

Welcome Home Vets of New Jersey

Welcome Home Vets of New Jersey received an act of kindness from Visions in the form of gas gift cards. Welcome Home Vets of NJ is an entirely volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping our service men and women overcome obstacles in their return to civilian life.

Meals on Wheels - Westwood, NJ

Visions donated gas gift cards to Meals on Wheels of Westwood, NJ as an Act of Kindness. These cards will be given to their hundreds of volunteer drivers that service the Bergen County communities and beyond.

Senior Center Gifts

As an act of kindness during the holiday season, our Community Development and Marketing teams donated several bags of essential items as Christmas gifts to the Rural Health Network and Northern Broome Cares Senior Center in Whitney Point, NY. They even brought along Mrs. Claus to spread some holiday cheer!

Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler

The Visions branch staff in Watkins Glen, NY donated to the Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler's Bags of Hope initiative. They filled several tote bags with holiday food items to be shared in the community. Way to go, Watkins Glen!

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

Our New Jersey staff put love, creativity, and care into creating over 100 blankets to keep children in their region warm this season! The blankets were donated to CASA of Morris/Sussex Counties and CASA of Passaic County to be distributed to children in foster care. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a nonprofit organization which champions the best interests of children in the child welfare system.

International Credit Union Day

In celebration of International Credit Union Day, we selected organizations around our regions that focus on international causes and presented them with $1,000 towards their efforts. Our first stop for International Credit Union Day was at Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church in Johnson City, NY. The parish has sent containers to Ukraine filled with supplies to support orphaned and displaced children, soldiers on the front line, and hospitals treating the victims of the war. Next, we stopped at Ibero-American Action League in Rochester, NY. We selected Ibero for their work with Hurricane Fiona relief efforts that are still underway in the Dominican Republic. Our final stop was at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. Since 1939, the ACA has been helping immigrants and refugees start a new life in the community while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity.

United Way of Cortland County

As an act of kindness, our Cortland branch staff purchased $250 worth of items for the Cortland County United Way's Day of Caring “Fill the Box” campaign. The campaign requested donations of food, hygiene products, baby supplies, pet food, cleaning products, feminine products, and more. Our staff selected a variety of items to support the needs of the United Way, and the collection was distributed to local food pantries.

GIANT In-Store Branches - Spin to Win

While searching for a way to give back to the community, our PA in-store branches at the GIANT noticed that food prices were still at an all-time high. To help alleviate the strain this may cause our community, staff brought out a prize wheel and offered 8 families a chance to spin to win a $50 gift card alongside other Visions swag. It was a huge success!

Binghamton East Branch - Punch Board

To show appreciation for their members, our Binghamton East branch in NY curated a punch board full of gift cards for groceries, gas, dining, and coffee. Participants simply “punched” through tissue paper covering a plastic cup and received the gift card hidden within. That way, everyone was a winner!

Back to School Resource Fair

On August 24th, 2022, the Back to School Resource Fair was held in downtown Reading, PA. It was hosted by State Representative, Manny Guzman, and Reading Mayor, Eddie Moran. School supplies, backpacks, fresh produce, and free haircuts were available to all area students and their families for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. Together with other community partners, Visions supplied notebooks, folders, pens, pencils, and crayons to more than 500 kids!

Rise Above Poverty

Rise Above Poverty, located in Syracuse, NY, is a local donation-based non-profit organization focused on bringing community awareness and engagement to the socioeconomic issues of poverty and homelessness in the Syracuse City School District. They also provide disadvantaged students with basic living necessities. Visions' Syracuse and Cicero offices purchased $1,000 worth of much needed items to benefit those served by Rise Above Poverty. Donations included soap, haircare items, toothbrushes and toothpaste, feminine products, and more. Additionally, they donated two bean bag chairs as well as several books on diversity to support the Rise Above Reading Clinic.

The Special Parent Advocacy Group

To support their community, some of our New Jersey employees purchased and donated items to the Special Parent Advocacy Group (SPAG) in Elmwood Park, NJ including water, snacks, sensory toys, and recreational toys. SPAG has been committed to providing families with resources, guidance, support, and advocacy representation since its start in 2011. SPAG connects families with available resources that can help navigate a wide variety of barriers and issues that oftentimes contribute to the daily stress of having a child with special needs. SPAG also offers after-school care, weekend recreational programming, and summer camps.

Union-Endicott Little League

As an act of kindness, Visions covered the cost of all concessions purchased at the Union-Endicott Little League championship games in Endicott, NY. It was a beautiful day filled with some exciting games, as the top teams in each division faced off. Congratulations to all the players and coaches for their hard work this 2022 season!

Meals on Wheels

The Broome County Government Meals-On-Wheels program is a home-delivered meal service available to eligible seniors who are unable to regularly prepare healthy meals for themselves. To show our kindness and support for their volunteers, who all use their own cars to deliver meals, Visions donated $5,000 in gas cards at several Broome County “Meals on Wheels” locations. The cards were distributed to drivers at Whitney Point, Harpursville, Conklin/Kirkwood, Chenango Bridge, and Binghamton offices.

Rochester Public Market

Visions employees Nadia and Sarah initiated an Act of Kindness at the Rochester Public Market to hand out tokens to shoppers! The tokens, valued at $5, can be used to purchase fresh, healthy food. They chose to provide this service in line with our internal Anti-Hunger Games campaign to help fight food insecurity in the communities that we serve.

Binghamton High School: Café Donation

Our Binghamton High School office in New York donated baking supplies and a warmer/cooler to the high school's café. Students and staff who work in the café were excited to get baking!

Helio Health and Fairview Recovery Centers

The Visions branch staff at our McKinley and Johnson City Pavilion locations in NY gave back to our community by donating supplies to Helio Health and Fairview Recovery Centers. Donated items included bulk snack boxes, books, and games. Residents received hygiene kits to help with their day-to-day care needs. Overall, the donation impacted approximately 290 patients and staff - way to go, Visions team!

Rescue Mission

Visions employees Sarah, Community Development Liaison, and Emily, Marketing Clerk, delivered a large collection of items to the Rescue Mission in Syracuse, NY - totaling approximately $1,000. The items came from the organization's wish list and included toiletries, snacks, puzzles, board games, and coloring books. Our employees also donated $100 worth of Starbuck gift cards for the Rescue Mission to buy drinks for their residents. The Rescue Mission houses homeless individuals on both a temporary and semi-permanent basis and have various programs that help children and adults.

YMCA - Ridgewood, NJ

As part of the grand opening festivities for a new Visions branch in Ridgewood, NJ, employees encouraged visitors and members to donate items to Ridgewood YMCA's summer camp programs.

Binghamton University - Hot Chocolate

To welcome new students to Binghamton University with a special treat, we offered them free hot chocolate and whipped cream. Yum!

Guthrie ER Staff Food Delivery

Throughout the pandemic, frontline staff in emergency rooms have been pushed to their limits. To show our appreciation, we donated various snacks, drinks, and grab-and-go meals to the 50+ staff members of the Guthrie Emergency Room in Sayre, PA. Thank you, Guthrie, and your hard-working staff for all that you do!

Homemade Blankets

Visions employees made blankets to donate to various local organizations that provide foster care for children in the Broome and Chenango County areas! Our staff put their love, creativity, and care into creating 100 blankets!

Leonia High School - Educator Appreciation

To show our appreciation for the educators at Leonia High School during another tough school year, Visions put together goodie bags filled with a mug, color changing spoons, Lindt truffles, peppermint bark, biscotti, and assorted hot chocolate. Not only did the school faculty have to navigate the challenges of teaching during the ongoing pandemic, but they also had to deal with flooding in their facilities. Adding to the act of kindness, we also gifted the gracious school administrators a large basket of assorted goods.

Family Promise of Sussex County Coat Drive

Visions shared some warmth and donated 16 men's coats sizes XL to XXXL to the Family Promise of Sussex County's Annual Coat Drive. Family Promise in Newton, NJ, works to eradicate homelessness in Sussex County and provides resources to help strengthen children and families.

Neighborhood Transformation Center

The Neighborhood Transformation Center offers resources and services for the betterment of families in Elmira NY, including summer programs, community meals, care giver support groups, and laundry services for single parent families. Visions donated laundry supplies including laundry bags, detergent, and dryer sheets for those in need.

Danny Dollar Book Donation

Visions donated approximately 1,300 copies of the “Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire” by Ty Allan Jackson to several schools and organizations within our footprint - enough books for all third and fourth grade classes. We also included copies for teachers and extras for their libraries. The book follows the story of Danny, whose goal is to become a millionaire, as he meets someone special, learns about finance, banking, and investing, and deals with neighborhood bullies.

13Thirty Pre-Production Party

13thirty is a homegrown organization based in Rochester, NY, with a second location in Syracuse, that provides programs and services for adolescents and young adults with cancer. In support of their annual event, 13Thirty Cancer Connect, Visions provided a pre-production party for the performers. Our idea was to unite and celebrate the performers by throwing them their own pizza party - wherever they were! Each was gifted with a $25 Domino's gift card, $25 Amazon gift card, and a drawstring bag filled with Visions swag. With things going virtual this year, the event featured a performance of Journeys by nine members who learned their choreography virtually.

Bergen County Zoo Carousal Rides

Throughout October 2021, Visions distributed free carousel and train ride tickets to patrons visiting the Bergen County Zoo at Van Saun Park in Paramus, NJ. In addition to those tickets, we also surprised people with tickets to attend the park's sold-out Zoo Boo event Halloween weekend.

Johnson City School District Haircuts

Who doesn't love a fresh cut? Visions gave away free back-to-school haircuts to 40 lucky students of Johnson City School District in Broome County, NY. Thank you to New York Styles Barbershop and Shuna's Hair Studio, for teaming up with us on this act of kindness. Thank you to Mr. Wilson, too, for helping us to make this project a reality!

Broome County Regional Farmer's Market

Visions handed out fans and grocery bags to shoppers at the Broome County Regional Farmer's Market. During our time there, we ran in to Eric, VP of Java Joe's. We enjoyed the chance to connect and enjoy some of his delicious coffee. Thanks for the fun, Eric!

Café Esperanza

Visions employees came together to take part in a garden cleanup for one of our community partners, Café Esperanza in Reading, PA. Organized by Lizette Epps, Director of Impact & Engagement, our employees spent the morning cleaning up the garden behind the café. We love to show our partners how much #VisionsCares and we were proud to leave the area beautified.

SUNY Broome Vaccination Site

As a gesture of kindness and appreciation, Visions donated a variety of drinks and snacks, including chips, cookies, granola bars, etc., to the volunteers and staff administering COVID-19 vaccines at the SUNY Broome Vaccination Site.

Teacher Appreciation Week

For two weeks during the month of May 2021, our New York high school offices showed educators that #VisionsCares for Teacher Appreciation Week. Offices had prize wheels that offered educators a chance to win either Visions SWAG items or one of five $25 VISA gift cards! Participants also received their choice of a full-size candy bar.

Umbrella Giveaways

Rain, Rain, Go Away! For the month of April 2021, Visions employees at our McKinley Avenue, University Center, and GIANT in-store branch locations handed out free umbrellas to members on rainy days.

Kindness Café

For the past few years, Visions FCU has shown our support of the hardworking and dedicated staff at United Health Services by delivering free meals for their frontline staff.

Girl Scout Scouts of America

In an effort to support local Girl Scouts in each region, our department of Impact and Engagement personally purchased a total of 225 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. To spread their kindness one step further, 75 of those boxes were donated to front line hospital workers at Reading Hospital, The Valley Hospital, UHS Wilson Medical Center, and UHS Binghamton General Hospital.

Sarah's Guest House

Our Syracuse team took full advantage of these unusual times, especially for the 2021 Superbowl! They cooked some of their favorite gameday foods and delivered them to the residents of local not-for-profit, Sarah's Guest House. Residents enjoyed the team's homemade chili, ziti, salads, desserts, and more!

North Syracuse Christian Church Food Pantry

Visions had the opportunity to spread kindness by donating 100 tote bags to the North Syracuse Christian Church Food Pantry in order to assist with their services during the pandemic. The pantry is working tirelessly to properly assist those in need, and the tote bags will provide more packaging.

I Want to Mow Your Lawn

During the COVID-19 pandemic New Jersey native, Brian Schwartz, started assisting the elderly, veterans, and those with disabilities with free lawn care. His charitable service quickly evolved into a non-profit, I Want to Mow Your Lawn, which also offered free snow removal during the winter months. Visions was so inspired by Brian's story that we donated a 30-inch Troy-Bilt Snowblower to support his cause!

Reading Royals Charities

Did someone say Teddy Bears? Due to COVID-19, the Reading Royals' annual Teddy Bear Game was cancelled, and when the team reached out to the community, our Muhlenberg back office staff in PA stepped up to the plate! They collected gently-loved teddy bears for those in need in the community, which were then given to the Reading Royals and donated to the local Salvation Army.

Owego-Apalachin School District

During the harsh winter months, the Owego-Apalachin Central School District had a need for coats and winter gear for students grades K-12. Due to the restrictions set by Covid-19, donations to the school were limited. With the help of a Visions Cares grant and some acts of kindness, we were able to help the students and alleviate some of the economic hardships on families by providing donations of warm, appropriate winter apparel.

The Arctic League

Employees from our Elmira office volunteered with The Arctic League to pack over 80 Christmas gifts for families in the community. For over 100 years, The Arctic League has provided gifts on Christmas morning to families in need in Chemung County, NY.

Giving Tree

We love spreading joy throughout the holiday season, and our Binghamton East, NY office couldn't wait to make a difference. They set up a Giving Tree and purchased toys, gift cards, hats, gloves, and fuzzy socks with corresponding gift tags as decoration. Families in need could take a gift tag and “redeem” the matching gift.

Child Hunger Outreach Partners

In an effort to spread kindness and provide warmth during the cold winter months, Visions employees of our Wysox, PA office collected winter clothing donations for CHOP - Child Hunger Outreach Partners.

Golden Opportunity Book Donations

Visions partnered with Golden Opportunity to provide 108 children's books that center and reflect children of color in grades 3 through 8. Golden Opportunity (GO) is a small Tompkins County, NY-based nonprofit that provides free one-on-one tutoring and mentorship to students who are marginalized due to family income level and who need access to academic and emotional support. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have mailed or dropped off learning materials and books to students' homes. This allows tutors to teach and read along with their students over the phone more easily.

Ramsey Drive-In

Finding ways of spreading kindness during a global pandemic has been nothing short of challenging. However, it has not stopped our New Jersey team from producing remarkably creative ways to support our communities. One way in particular involved employees handing out free tickets to local businesses and school staff members for the Ramsey Theatre Drive-In in New Jersey. Custom made goodie bags were passed out before the movie to show our appreciation for our members.

Leonia High School Culinary Class

In New Jersey, our team kindly donated 75 custom aprons to Leonia High School's Academy of Hospitality and the Culinary Arts Program. The aprons were provided to students enrolled in the school's on-site culinary class, where they are offered the opportunity to learn about the industry and develop their skills in preparation for use post-high school.

Spencer Van Etten Food Cupboard

Piles of boxes and food to sort? Bring it on. Our Spencer, NY office volunteered at the Spencer Van Etten Food Cupboard and helped pack and distribute food to families in need. We also gave away some gift cards to Spencer Shurfine, a local grocery store.

Visions Loves Educators Campaign

Our educators deserve respect, love, and recognition. We're here to help show them that they matter. As part of a Visions Loves Educators initiative, Visions gifted educators at various schools in the Morris County, NJ school district items and grants to show our appreciation. These items and grants went to directly support educators and their classrooms.

Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital

Toys and lollipops and kindness, oh my! Visions employees ventured to Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, NY to deliver gifts. Numerous patients joyfully received stuffed animals and lollipops during our visit.

4 on the 4th Road Race

We started the 4 on the 4th Road Race in 2018 as a way to give back to our community and create a fun event based on healthy activities. The 4 on the 4th Road Race brings participants on a 4-mile road course through our HQ’s home town of Endwell, NY. The course goes through neighborhoods, a beautiful park, and past some of our businesses, delivering participants to a rockin’ post-race party at our newly renovated headquarters. This race has drawn over 400 runners each year and has resulted in over $5,000 donated to our charity partner, The John Mack Foundation.

Visions Family Day

Visions Family Day has grown into a much-anticipated summer event. This fun and free event draws over a thousand attendees to our headquarters in Endwell, NY each year! Families look forward to games, crafts, live music, and more each year. A new addition in 2019 was a pet adoption pop-up with the Animal Care Sanctuary!

Free Ice Cream Truck

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! We love offering acts of kindness in all the communities we serve. Here we are in Norwich, NY, giving out free ice cream from a local food truck!