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During the recently-concluded National Volunteer Week, which took place April 13-19, your League reported the 2014 year-end volunteer totals for all Maine credit unions that report their volunteer hours to your League through the award-winning CUs Share for ME Volunteer Tracking program. In 2014, Maine CUs combined to contribute a documented 38,262 in volunteer hours, the second-highest total in the Program's history and nearly 1,000 hours more than 2013.
Started in 2002 to better document the significant volunteer time that Maine credit union staff and volunteers contribute to organizations and communities across Maine annually, the CUs Share for ME Program has documented nearly 350,000 hours since it began. "Maine credit unions, by their very structure, are about volunteers. With every Maine credit union having an all-volunteer, unpaid Board of Directors, the commitment to volunteering time to support others has strong roots in Maine's credit unions. The 'people helping people' philosophy is alive and well in Maine," commented John Murphy, President of your League.
In 2014, Maine credit unions collectively contributed an average of 3,182 hours a month to various causes with an average of 339 credit union staff and volunteers participating in volunteer efforts each month. According to statistics provided by the Points Of Light Foundation, which organizes National Volunteer Week, the 38,182 hours contributed by Maine credit unions is worth nearly $800,000, with each volunteer hour estimated at a value of $20.10 per hour.
"While impressive, we know that the 38,000+ hours documented is only a fraction of the total volunteer hours that Maine credit unions contribute each year but the purpose of CUs Share for ME is to at document as much of the volunteerism that occurs at Maine credit unions as possible," noted Jon Paradise, Vice President of Governmental & Public Affairs at the Maine Credit Union League.
Your League encourages all Maine credit union to report their volunteer hours through this program. Hours may be submitted at any time.
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