The Albany Police Department strives to protect the community they serve by proactively improving quality of life and inspiring confidence through a collaborative effort to problem solving and enforcement of laws. To support their mission of strengthening relationships within the community, the department hosted a series of Community Pop-Up BBQs throughout the summer in which they served dinner to residents at various locations. Sunmark's donation helped to fund these community events.

 

The Albany Pride Hockey Association, a 2020 ICU Honoree, is dedicated to creating a safe and secure environment for LGBTQ athletes and their allies to learn and play hockey. The APHA encourages everyone to play hockey, regardless of someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

 

The APHA and the Albany Bombers for Power Skating Sessions were sponsored by Sunmark Credit Union! Power Skating events were open to the Capital Region adult hockey community as a part of the Albany Pride Hockey Association's initiative to grow our relations between the LGBTQ community and the broader hockey community.

 

The American Red Cross provides help and hope across the Capital Region 365 days a year. Whether responding to home fires, preparing for ice storms, supporting local veterans, or collecting lifesaving blood, the Red Cross is there when it's needed most. Sunmark is proud to support the American Red Cross Eastern New York Region's Fire and Ice Gala. The Fire + Ice Gala raises funds to support the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross in your community.

 

 

 

Best Buddies is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).. 

 

Sunmark Credit Union and Best Buddies joined together on April 10 for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk, the leading walk in the country supporting inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (also known as IDD).

Sunmark Credit Union sponsored Big Brothers Big Sisters Fall Classic golf outing in October 2022. Big Brothers Big Sisters mission is to create and support professionally guided one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. The organization was established in New York's Capital Region in 1964 as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Albany County. In 1997 BBBS of Albany County merged with other local Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region. They serve the Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties in New York State.

 

Proudly serving the Capital Area since 1892, The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area (BGCCA) provides safe havens for young people by offering quality programs and critical relationships with nurturing reliable adults. Boys & Girls Clubs give their members access to dedicated, trained professionals who can provide guidance in adopting healthy lifestyles and pursuing educational objectives. Our donations have helped fund the BGCCA's Ball Drop at their annual golf tournament, and a 2022 Back to School Fashion Show at Crossgates Mall.

 

Bring on the Spectrum's community space offers social, recreational, and lifestyle activities for neurodiverse and neurotypical children, teens and adults like art, yoga, music, zumba, life skills and more. Sunmark has partnered with Bring on the Spectrum to help launch a "Kindness Club" - which was an idea brought to BOTS by a local student named Jacob who wanted to host activities where neurotypical and neurodiverse youth come together for activities and fun. 

 

Officially named the Sunmark Kindness Club, the program will hold monthly activities including open play in the sensory gym and activities in the community space like Legos, board games, movies and more. Jacob’s ideas/efforts will be supported with outreach through collaborative partners including the Boys & Girls Club of the Capital Area, local school districts, local direct support agencies (AIM, Wildwood, ALG, etc.) as well as through marketing channels. The Sunmark Kindness Club offers the unique ability to be a bridge between youth, neurotypical and neurodiverse where there are benefits for all. “Making friends” for youth of all ages is the number one struggle parents/caregivers share with us. The Sunmark Kindness Club can help make a difference in the lives of many.

Capital Roots works to reduce the impact of poor nutrition on public health in New York’s Capital Region by organizing community gardens, providing healthy food access, offering nutritional and horticultural education for all ages and coordinating urban greening programs.

 

Sunmark's donation will support the Annual Spring Brunch, which features great food donated by 125 of the region’s restaurants and community volunteers, a fabulous silent auction, and the one-of-a-kind atmosphere. This event was held on May 1, 2022 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.

The City Mission of Schenectady seeks to comprehensively meet the needs of the poor in a manner that dignifies and strengthens the individual, the family, and the community. Sunmark has sponsored the Mission's Toy Store, an annual, free community event where families are able to "shop" for toys for their children. This event is offered to Schenectady area residents and is coordinated by referrals from community partners.

Concerned for the Hungry, Inc. is an entirely volunteer organization working to fight hunger in Schenectady County. The organization hosts several food distribution events throughout the year, including: Holiday Lunch Program, Christmas Bureau, and Thanksgiving Food Drive. Sunmark Credit Union donated $1,000 to help support their Thanksgiving Food Drive and mission to provide Thanksigiving baskets to families in need in Schenectady County.

The Epilepsy Foundation, in collaboration with our community and network partners, connects the people, data and resources needed to address challenging health problems associated with seizures and the epilepsies—and promotes education, policy, research and systemic change that will foster measurable and sustainable improvement for all people living with epilepsy. Sunmark sponsored the Epilepsy Foundation's annual golf outing, which helps raise funds to further the organizaion's mission to lead the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives.

 

Food for Thought is a grassroots effort providing snacks to school children struggling with food accessibility. What started as one snack, has grown to supply snacks to 22 schools in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties.

 

During the month of February, the Sunmark Foundation and Sunmark Credit Union collected individually wrapped snacks for Food For Thought- a 2021 ICU Honoree that currently supplies over 7,000 snacks per month to 22 area schools for children in need. Collections bins were placed at Sunmark branch locations where donations were made.

As a means of providing for the community, Franklin Community Center offers an emergency food pantry, stocked with non-perishable items, fresh produce and bread and hygiene products. The pantry operates through support from the Regional Food Bank and from donations from generous community members, businesses, churches and civic groups. Due to the long reaching effects from the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of families requesting assistance. Last year, the Food Pantry provided over 6,800 children, adults and families with food assistance. Sunmark's donation will help further Franklin Community Center's mission to provide basic necessities and services to Saratoga County families.

 

Good Reasons® was bred from a love of all living creatures and a deep understanding of the value of a diverse, inclusive society. As the CEO of Community Based Services, Good Reasons’ founder, Vicki Sylvester, PhD., has been an advocate for the disabled community for over 30 years. When the state of New York asked its network of providers to help create jobs for people with disabilities, Sylvester decided to combine her love of animals with her professional experience to create a company committed to making a meaningful difference. Three Brown Dogs Barkery, LLC. was born. Named for Sylvester’s own trio of tail-waggers, Three Brown Dogs Barkery, LLC. serves up delicious, all-natural dog treats with a recipe stirred together by chef Allan Katz, an alumnus of The Culinary Institute of America, and produced by an integrated workforce.

The Guilderland Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to strengthening member businesses and community involvement in order to stimulate growth and a positive town image within our local economy. Sunmark's donation supports the Chamber's Marketing Co-Op Fund. The Fund allows for businesses and non-profits to apply for and receive matching grants to assist with their promotional and marketing efforts such as: creating new content, promoting an event, or launching a new campaign.

The mission at Hood's House of Hoops, a 2021 ICU Honoree, is to bring unity to our communities by providing, safe, engaging athletic programs to our youth. Their programs go beyond the game of basketball, creating an environment where children learn self-esteem, confidence and a healthy lifestyle all while reinforcing the principals being taught at home and school of a bright future. A large portion of our donation is helping to support Hood's Summer Camp programming for local youth until school begins.

Sunmark Credit Union and the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation support the credit union philosophy of people helping people, as well as investing in the communities we serve. Every year, in honor of International Credit Union (ICU) Day, we acknowledge individuals and organizations who have made their mark in the areas we serve by contributing their time, talent or treasure to better their community, thus living out the credit union philosophy. This year, we awarded a total of $20,000 to the following:

People Helping People

• Night Out For You, Inc
• Black Diamonds Academic Success, Inc.
• Safe Inc. of Schenectady

Susan V. Siegel Community Service Leader

• Cheryl Hage Perez, Veterans & Community Housing Coalition

It’s Cool to be Kind Student Leader

• Ella Schoenborn, Projectella

 

Learn More

Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed. The inspiration piece comes from community volunteers who not only deliver our lessons, but share their experience.​​​​​​ Junior Achievement’s proven lessons in financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship are shown to positively impact the lives of young people. 

 

Sunmark is proud to support Junior Achievement's Stock Market Challenge - a fun-filled, action-packed competition that gives high school students the opportunity to experience the stock market first-hand while enhancing team-building and communication skills in a fast-paced environment.

 

 

Based in Albany, the Pride Center has been meeting the diverse needs of LGBTQ people in a ten-county region since 1970.in need. As the oldest continuously-operating LGBTQ community center in the country, the Pride Center has worked to build a welcoming and empowering community for all people.

 

Sunmark's donation is a collaboration between our Make Your Mark initiative and Executive Giving program in which each month a donation is presented from the leaders of Sunmark to the leaders of our communities. 

The Regional Food Bank has been helping to feed the poor and hungry in our communities since 1982. It is the only organization of its kind in northeastern New York. The Food Bank collects large donations of food from the food industry and distributes it to charitable agencies serving hungry and disadvantaged people in 23 counties. From Plattsburgh to Newburgh, in urban, rural, and suburban communities, the Food Bank provides over 55 million pounds of food a year to 1,000 agencies.

 

Sunmark's donation helped support the Food Bank's annual golf event and the 12th Annual timesunion.com/Table Hopping Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, which was held along historic Remsen Street in Downtown Cohoes and featured competing Mac-n-Cheese tasting stations, beer tastings, and more.

Through core programs, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region offers access to quality health care with a family-centered approach. Learn more about the RMHC mission and impact here. Sunmark's support of the 40 Years of Love Anniversary Gala will help the Ronald McDonald House raise the funds it needs to continue to its mission of delivering and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and families in our local communities.

 

Special Olympic's mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-style sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

 

Our donations helped to support Special Olympics of New York's Night of Champions event and the Drive for Inclusion charity golf outing.

St. Catherine's Center for Children provides a comprehensive range of human services designed to offer hope, foster growth, and improve the lives of the children, families, and adults they serve. St. Catherine’s Center for Children’s services reach more than 1,000 children, 600 families, and hundreds of adults. Our multi-service programs address issues of homelessness, child abuse and neglect, family instability, and special education, among others. To support St. Catherine's mission, Sunmark sponsored their annual golf outing in September 2022. 

 

STRIDE Adaptive Sports is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides over 11,000 adaptive sport and recreation lessons each year to individuals with disabilities, focusing on youth and Wounded Warriors. Our donation will help fund STRIDE'S Respite Program which gives families/caregivers 3 hours responsibility free time, while they provide activities and dinner for youth with special needs! Whether parents decide to do some shopping, go out with friends, or just stay home and relax, the Respite Program provides that opportunity.

 

Learn more about the Respite Program at STRIDE Adaptive Sports here.

 

Sunmark Credit Union and the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation have joined together with Beekman 1802, a company founded by an act of kindness, to fulfill a common goal of spreading more kindness in the world - starting with our own communities. Our Summer of Kindness project invites children up to age 12 to “deposit kindness” by submitting ideas on how they would spread kindness in their community.

 

One child's idea was to help provide local teachers with classroom supplies they typically have to buy out of pocket. A Kindness Crew worked to help bring this idea to fruition by having local teachers submit school supply wish lists on Amazon. Our donation helped fund the purchase of these supplies.

 

For those affected by breast cancer in the Capital Region, To Life! provides personal support, empowers informed decision-making, and enhances the quality of life. As part of our monthly Executive Giving Program, Sunmark's Executive Leadership members visited ToLife! headquarters in Delmar, NY where they received an in-depth tour of the facilities and presented the organization with a $1,000 donation.

 

Learn more about ToLife! and the important work they do here.

 

As a local Bethlehem organization for over 65 years, Tri-Village Little League strives to not only be a place of inclusion for all children within the district, but also to be a place where small local businesses can make a big impact on the youth of their community. Sunmark's support helped Tri-Village host their second annual Movie Night at Magee Park where a “drive-in” style movie is put on right on the Majors field! Families bring blankets and chairs and watch a film at the park while having popcorn, pizza, and snacks provided by local vendors under the stars right in their hometown!

United Way of the Greater Capital Region (UWGCR) is a local organization that brings individuals and groups together in a community wide effort to help people.​ To drive positive change, UWGCR evaluates the community's diverse needs, mobilizes the caring power of the community, and directs resources to the areas that will have the most positive impact.​

 

Each year, Sunmark Credit Union participates in UWGCR's 518 Day, which provides opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to be part of solutions to building a more resilient Capital Region through volunteerism and community impact. In addition to our donation, volunteers from the Credit Union will also participate in 518 Day volunteer projects in our local communities.

 

 

Since 1988, WERC has provided quality workforce development services to more than 9,000 women from the Capital Region who have lost their source of support due to divorce, separation, or their spouse's job loss, disability or death.  Single mothers or women who are pending loss of public assistance benefits also qualify for WERC's training programs.​​​​​​

 

A portion of our donation will help kick-start a new women's mentorship program pairing experienced leaders within the community with women who are entering the workforce for the first time or re-entering after a significant period of time away following the loss of support due to circumstances such as: divorce, separation, spouse's job loss, disability, or death. We're also honored to support WERC's Constellation Building Event: Shining Brigther Together.

 

Learn more about WERC here.

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