DEARBORN, MI – The Dearborn Education Foundation, which funds academic and extra-curricular tools to enhance student achievement, received $10,000 from DFCU Financial, Michigan’s largest credit union which is also headquartered in Dearborn.
This donation will be used for classroom needs and equipment that otherwise would not be realized. The Dearborn Education Foundation is one of the many community partnerships and educational programs aligned with DFCU Financial’s philanthropic focus.
Left to right: DFCU Financial President and CEO Mark Shobe, DFCU Financial Oakwood/Southfield VP and Branch Manager Caryn Solferino and Dearborn Education Foundation Executive Director Eddie Fakhoury
“We are so thankful for strong community partners like DFCU Financial,” said Foundation Executive Director Eddie Fakhoury. “The dollars raised provide classroom equipment and district-wide programs that cover books, musical instruments, microscopes, computers, athletic equipment, art projects, and student competitions that would otherwise go unfunded.”
The Foundation was created in 1992, and since then has provided over $1,700,000 back to the district by way of funding teacher grants. Local school districts are burdened with a growing list of competing priorities, including curriculum changes, salaries, government regulations, and funding gaps, but education foundations like Dearborn’s are a source of major support by raising funds to provide an array of learning opportunities for students. Given their existing relationships with districts’ administration and communities, education foundations are ideal partners for navigating these systems while being independent from them.
“Support of the Dearborn Education Foundation is an important part of our commitment to education and the Dearborn Public School district,” said Mark Shobe, president and CEO of DFCU Financial. “The Foundation helps ensure that our donations go directly to impact students and enhance classrooms, providing technology and other necessary learning tools.”
DFCU Financial is Michigan’s largest credit union with more than $3.5 billion in assets. DFCU Financial issues to its’ clients the largest CASH BACK reward of all credit unions with more than $157 million issued since 2006. A strong community partner, DFCU Financial continually reinvests in its membership with new branches, a no-interest, no-payment Career Transition Program and financial literacy education for all ages. DFCU Financial currently operates 24 full-service branches in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing.