Kindness

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!

LakeView Amphitheatre

We’re proud to be the box office sponsor of the Lakeview Amphitheatre in Syracuse, NY. Our volunteers give out fun swag, play games, and love interacting with the fans!

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!