January 21, 2015

ST. HELENS, Ore., January 21, 2015: St. Helens Community employees spent part of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday building bicycles for CASA for Children in Columbia County as part of a continued effort to provide community support.

The annual all-staff training day is an opportunity for all employees to learn something new and help with a community-related project. This year, the employees assembled nine bicycles, ranging from small toddler-sized bikes to larger big-kid models.

“We’re living our brand and building a better community,” stated Brooke Van Vleet, President and CEO of St. Helens Community Credit Union. “Best of all, we’re doing it together.”

CASA for Children received the assembled bicycles and immediately started distributing them to foster kids throughout Columbia County. “It’s great when those in the community come together for our county’s children in need,” said Lindsey King, CASA Supervisor with CASA for Children Columbia County office. “St. Helens Community has always been a huge advocate for our cause and other local charities.”

Columbia County currently has more children in foster care than any other region in the state, per capita, stated King. Because CASA for Children can only serve about 25-percent of those kids due to limited volunteers, King thanked the St. Helens team for their support.

CASA for Children Multnomah, Washington & Columbia Counties (casahelpskids.org) recruits, screens, trains and supports volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) for abused and neglected children in the foster-care system in Multnomah, Washington & Columbia Counties Oregon. Its goal is to ensure that all children grow up in a safe, permanent home.

St. Helens Community Credit Union (shcu.org) is proud to be the area’s longstanding not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative. Membership is open to families and businesses throughout Columbia, Clatsop, and Cowlitz Counties as well as Sauvie Island, Oregon.