Community Choice Financial was happy to contribute $140,000 to Volunteers of America in the Greater Ohio area this past year. This money will go to benefit not just the Greater Ohio Volunteers of America but also 12 other affiliates around the nation. The Helping Hands Campaign is an effort to reach out to the needy with shelters, food pantries, job training, counseling, and more. Community Choice Financial is proud to be able to raise and give to this charitable organization that offers a huge variety of services to those in need.

Volunteers of America is a non-profit organization that operates nationwide to provide services to the underprivileged. The organization offers thousands of human services programs, like healthcare and housing. The donation from Community Choice Financial Services will go to help over 16,000 people in the Greater Ohio area and around 2 million across the country. Volunteers of America was established in 1896. The organization is faith based and runs a ministry service that focuses on providing support to vulnerable groups like at-risk youth, senior citizens, those returning from incarceration, veterans, those with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions.

Community Choice Financial is proud to give back to the communities we serve. We offer alternative financial services to people without traditional banking services. We offer convenient options like consumer loans, title loans, check cashing, money transfer, bill payment and more. We also offer additional services like auto insurance, tax preparation, and motor vehicle registration. We operate a total of 433 stores in 14 states, including Utah, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and more. Community Choice Financial is based out of Dublin, Ohio.

At Community Choice Financial we are proud to contribute to Volunteers of America. The Volunteers of America organization is an invaluable asset to the communities they serve, and Community Choice is happy to give back this holiday season. If you are also interested in giving to Volunteers of America, whether it’s a donation of time or money, call 1-800-899-0089 today.

The Cash & Go team was proud to be part of a very special event at the end of last year that helped to raise money to buy goods and gifts for local families. From November 20^th to December 10^th, Cash & Go worked with the community to raise over $1,000 in donations. The event was a coalition effort with the Volunteers of America (VoA) of Oregon, an organization that works to provide vital services to the community, such as relief nurseries for children and work re-entry programs.

Thanks to the generous donations, the team was able to purchase a wide range of home supplies, food, and toys for families. The Cash & Go team made a specific effort to focus on gifts that revolved around arts and crafts, inspiring kids to be more creative. This allowed the kids to create their own gifts that they could then give to others. The team felt that “the holidays were not simply about buying presents, but creating and making gifts from the heart.”

Children were also given the chance to select a gift themselves from our gift table and have it wrapped by a volunteer. They were then encouraged to pick a “special someone” to give the gift to. The event taught children that it also feels good to give gifts and make other people happy. One little boy told us that “this was the best day ever!” Cash & Go also received a special thank you from VoA Service Manager, Nancy Lozo, for working hard to make the event a success.

A Special Lunch For Seniors

On December 18^th we gathered with local seniors for a pleasant lunch during which we conversed, sang Christmas Carols, and even got to play a nice round of Bingo. Our team members Brenda and Jennifer won the round, along with their senior friends. It was a great time and we can’t wait to visit with them again!

A Big Thank You From Cash & Go

Without the generous support and involvement of the community, neither of these events would have been possible. Cash & Go extends a big thank you to everyone who was involved. It was a great blessing for us to be able to give back to the community, and we look forward to seeing everyone at more events in the future!

Community Choice Financial Provided a Christmas Party for a Sacramento Family Shelter

The Community Choice Financial family was proud to be able to spread a little holiday cheer to those in need this year with a party run by a team from Cash 1 in Sacramento on December 23. This was a rewarding event for both Community Choice Financial employees and those in need who may not have had friends and family to share a Christmas meal with.

The Cash 1 team provided food to feed around 70 guests, as well as lots of dancing, music, and general holiday merriment. A special thanks goes to Mike for dressing up as Santa Claus and fulfilling the fantasies of children who weren’t all able to make it to see Santa elsewhere. Lyssa also deserves thanks for photographing all the kids with Saint Nick.

Finally, maybe the best part of the night came from Linda, who suggested after all of the partygoers had eaten their fill that we distribute the leftover food to people without a place to stay for the night. Everyone was very glad to receive a meal and some holiday spirit in the process.

Community Choice Financial and Cash 1 were happy to be able to give something back to the Sacramento community this holiday season, having raised $500 in order to provide the food and entertainment. The Cash 1 team also proudly serves area residents from two locations at 1600 W. El Camino Avenue and 4550 Mack Road.

Our Phoenix Checksmart team was happy to help with the Operation Turkey Day tradition at Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill this year. Every year, around 300 soldiers pour into the mainstay restaurant in Tempe and are treated to a whole turkey dinner including potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and all the trimmings you would expect at home. This year, soldiers were welcomed alone or with their families into one much bigger family under the Z’Tejas roof. Volunteers like the Checksmart staff take the opportunity to serve the service people and celebrate the holiday.

The soldiers were all happy to be treated to the food and the friendly atmosphere. Drinks and football were also on the menu, which of course led to spirited cheering from the diverse gathering. The men and women of the military could also participate in plenty of other celebrations throughout the day, including a turkey call competition with prizes.

Turkey Day has been a tradition for the last five years at Z’Tejas, with military personnel, veterans, and their families being welcomed in two waves. One seating in the late morning and one in the early afternoon provided soldiers with time to eat, relax, and enjoy the holiday. The First Operation Turkey Day was started at the Z’Tejas branch in Austin, Texas. Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill has been around since 1989 and now has 11 locations across the country. The restaurant is proud to provide Thanksgiving festivities for soldiers and veterans, and our Checksmart team was happy to lend a helping hand.

The Chico Children’s Fair

Community Choice Financial was proud to be a part of this year Children’s Fair in Chico, California. The Children’s Fair was hosted this year at the Silver Dollar Fair Grounds, just west of the intersection of Golden State Highway and East Park Avenue. The event ran from October 13^th to the 14^th from 10 am to 7 pm. There were plenty of games and rides, as well as exhibits from local businesses and organizations, including Community Choice Financial. Admission and parking was free, making this an event that everyone could enjoy!

Fun for Kids of all Ages

A huge number of kids and their parents showed up to take part in the fun. The fair proved a great opportunity for Community Choice Financial to market to different families. We also had a chance to speak with local businesses and discuss their needs.

We were determined that Community Choice financial would have a big presence at the fair. We put a huge effort into making sure that our booth was among the best-looking at the fair. Our front-and-center location made us one of the first things families would see when they entered. The best part was that the blue and silver trimmings of the fair matched CCFI’s colors perfectly!

We made sure that we gave kids plenty of chances to have fun at our booth. With the simple spin of a wheel, kids who came by could win lunch bags, pencils, temporary tattoos, pens, bubbles, play dough, and, of course, tons of candy! We also gave several board games as prizes, but everything was overshadowed by our big bicycle give-away! While children entered the raffle, our team got a chance to talk with parents about the services we offer.

We would like to extend a huge thanks to all of our hard-working team members who made our presence at the Children’s Fair possible. Extra thanks are in order to Dominic, Dan, Jessica, Sara, Veronica, and our district manager Robert for coming out to help and making the event a huge success.

Everyone has their own reason. For some, they feel grateful for how far they have come, or they walk to remember those they have lost. For others, they want to inspire hope and galvanize progress toward ending this disease. Others may want to participate in the event as a way to fight back against a disease that attacked them or loved ones.

I started walking 12 years ago after my young granddaughter’s maternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I realized that my young granddaughters were at risk. Now was the time to give back — to try to help raise funds for treatment and research.

I walk for my sister-in-law Cindy whose life changed with the words, “You have breast cancer.” I walk for friends and family. I walk for you, and I walk for me.

Thanks to the advances in science and treatment in just the last 10 years — made possible by the money raised by events such as this walk — chances of survival are better than 95%.

I walk for the women and men who don’t have adequate health insurance and will turn to local community programs supporting education, screening, and treatment.

I walk for the researcher who has dedicated their life to finding better treatments and a cure.

I walk because I CAN’T WALK AWAY.

Life is precious and can change in a second…

BE AN ADVOCATE for yourself and the men and women around you (yes, men too, who are being affected in increasing numbers).

Breast cancer affects all genders, races, and ages. I will train, I will walk, I will advocate, I will spread awareness, and I will raise money until I physically can no longer do it.

BECAUSE EVERYONE DESERVES A LIFETIME

I would appreciate your support. To do so, please click here to donate.

Thank you,
Mary

“Worry looks around, Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.”

CCFI has been a long-time partner of the Children’s Hunger Alliance and a staunch advocate for Hunger Prevention and Awareness.

Starting on today through June, 1,  2012, CCFI, Sunny 95 and the Children’s Hunger Alliance are teaming up to bring awareness to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Central Ohio.  SFSP is one of several Child Nutrition Programs sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by The Ohio Department of Education.

Other Child Nutrition Programs include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and After School Care Snack Program. These programs reimburse schools and other youth-serving organizations for providing nutritious meals to children. Nationally over 25 million children in over 90,000 schools participate in Child Nutrition Programs. The SFSP in Ohio daily serves meals and snacks for over 120,000 children at nearly 1,500 sites through the SFSP during summer.

All Central Ohio CheckSmart® and Express Consumer Loans stores will be donation centers for the Summer Food Service Program.

We’ve enjoyed assisting many of our valued customers with Western Union products like money orders, bill pay and wire transfers.* After all, Western Union is a trusted leader in global payment solutions.

Now, Western Union has teamed with Grammy Award-winning artist, actor and author Common for an online campaign to help consumers share their stories of gratitude and love for family, loved ones and friends to say thank you, with a chance to win $1,000 every day through June 17.

The Western Union Thanks A Thousand campaign invites consumers to upload a personalized video, photograph or brief essay to thank their mothers, families, loved ones and friends for being special in their lives. Eligible participants should visit www.thanksathousand.com to share their stories of appreciation and learn more about the contest.

You’ll find more information about the Thanks A Thousand campaign in all of our stores where Western Union products are offered. We encourage everyone to participate and wish you the best of luck!

*Western Union product offerings vary by store location.