The 2022 Recognition Awards will be presented to New York deserving credit unions and individuals during the New York Credit Union Association’s Annual Meeting & Convention at the Sagamore Resort on Lake George June 16–19. The awards will be presented during the general session on Friday, June 17.

The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award honors credit unions that strengthen local institutions and materially improve the lives of non-members through community outreach programs.

This year’s award winners include Western New York FCU, Sunmark Credit Union and CAP COM FCU. SeaComm FCU and Teachers FCU are receiving honorable mentions this year.

Western New York FCU is receiving the award in the $50 million – $250 million asset category for its “Wear Jeans With a Purpose” initiative, allowing staff to wear jeans on Fridays in exchange for a $75 donation to the charity of their choice. Western New York FCU contributed an additional $25, totaling $100 donation per participating employee to 15 local community organizations in need.

Sunmark Credit Union is receiving the award in the $250 million – $1 billion asset category for its “Summer of Kindness” initiative. Sunmark Credit Union partnered with Beekman 1802, a national company founded by an act of kindness, and invited children up to age 12 to “deposit kindness” by submitting their ideas on how they would spread kindness in their local communities. The credit union’s Kindness Crew, comprised of Sunmark Credit Union, Foundation and Beekman employees worked with the children to bring these Kindness Projects to life, with a total of eight projects completed from July to early September.

CAP COM FCU is receiving the award in the more than $1 billion asset category for its CAP COM CARES Foundation Infrastructure Initiative Program, which allowed its community partners to build accessible bathrooms for constituents. The program was formed with the initial intention of giving 10 organizations gifts of $5,000, but after seeing more applications than anticipated, the total allocation for the program was increased to 20 organizations, which helped fund new roofs, building expansions, equipment to start a podcast, software upgrades and much more.