St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union joins more than 68,800 credit unions around the world to celebrate the 70th annual International Credit Union Day today.
In addition to being an important anniversary for the global movement, credit unions here are also celebrating 60 successful years of service in Ireland, and to mark this significant milestone, this year’s ICU Day® celebrations will focus on the unique financial services offered by credit unions.
The celebrations revolve around the theme of the ‘credit union difference’, according to the union "putting people at the heart of everything we do which has endured for the past six decades in Ireland".
To mark the occasion, St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union will host a coffee morning in both the Mainguard Street and Westside offices from 10.30am to 12 noon today. As part of the celebrations they will be collecting donations for the Galway Simon Community, adding to the collections already made by five of the Credit Union's staff who took part in the Sleep Out for Simon on October 5.
Lisa Stewart at St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union says like all credit unions, St Anthony’s & Claddagh shares a common goal to offer access to affordable credit and loans to the local communities it serves.
"We strive to provide even the most financially disadvantaged sectors of our communities with the tools and the opportunities to be financially self-sufficient – and to help them on the road to achieving their goals in life; be they education or travel goals, a wedding or renovating the home for the family. This is the credit union difference that makes a real, positive impact on the lives of people in the Galway area. We look forward to celebrating this with our members, and indeed the whole community, on ICU Day®.”
St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union has been serving the Galway area for 55 years. There are 68,882 credit unions in 109 countries, serving 231 million members. There are 3.6 million credit union members across the island of Ireland, which is one of the highest number of members per head of population. In Ireland, as in other countries, credit unions are not-for-profit and provide viable alternatives to financial institutions which operate for profit. ICU Day® has been celebrated annually since 1948, and is traditionally marked on the third Thursday in October.
For further information, please contact Lisa Stewart at St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union, 091 537200.
