Prior to the pandemic, Stephanie Harrison kept busy by working a full-time position as a senior loan underwriter at Natco Credit Union and spent many hours running her own business, Stephanie Harrison Photography. Stephanie’s job duties as a senior loan underwriter could be completed remotely and therefore, she was among the Natco team members who began to work remotely in March. As a business owner, she also temporarily closed her photography business. For eight weeks, she didn’t leave her home.

The credit union purchased supplies to sew masks for staff. As someone who was used to being busy all the time, Stephanie volunteered to sew. She continued making masks for her family using fabric she had previously purchased for other projects.

She created a one-man assembly process and began to sew for two hours each morning before work and spent most evening sewing. Through her passion to help others, she offered masks to anyone for free. Some masks were donated to local businesses including the Wayne County Health Department and Fairview Elementary school where all three of her boys attended several years ago.

As she completed masks, she would post on Facebook and allow people to claim the masks they wanted. Masks were placed inside baggies and taped to her front door for pick up. Some people would place money back in the baggie and retape it to her front door. This allowed her to purchase more supplies. Others donated supplies such as fabric and elastic. Stephanie continued to purchase supplies on her own as well.

To date, Stephanie has sewn and donated over 400 masks for adults and children in the local area. Once restrictions on business began to lift in early July, she reopened her photography business. Her available time to sew has been reduced significantly. When time allows, she still makes masks and offers them for free.

Stephanie is a shining example of Natco’s mission statement – Helping people live better lives and the credit union industry’s philosophy – People helping people. She was presented with a Credit Union Philosophy award during Q2 2020 to recognize her project of sewing masks.

 

 

EFFECTIVE MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 VISITORS WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A FACE MASK TO ENTER OUR BRANCHES.

THIS STEP IS FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES AND IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH INDIANA’S MANDATE DATED JULY 23, 2020.

The official Executive Order from Governor Holcomb has just been released. Therefore, we are providing some additional information.

Beginning Monday, July 27 all Hoosiers must wear masks at certain times in certain situations. Those situations are as follows:

• Masks must be worn by anyone over the age of eight when in indoor spaces, using public transportation or outside when not socially or physically distanced from
someone who isn’t in your household.

• Exceptions will be made for medical purposes, strenuous physical activity, eating and drinking. Masks will be strongly recommended for those ages 2-7.

• Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth.

The Executive Order becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, July 27, 2020, and continues 30 days until 11:59 on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, unless rescinded, modified or extended by the Governor.

We may ask you to briefly pull down your mask so that we may verify your identity. Otherwise, a mask is required during the duration of your visit inside our branches.

If you are unable to wear a mask during your visit to our office, our drive ups are full service.

We all share in this health challenge and Natco will continue to focus on doing what’s best for our members, our employees, and our communities.

 

Wall Street Journal

 

How Financial Institutions Can Help America Heal

Financial tools to pay for education and build wealth should be more widely available.

By Rodney E. Hood

June 4, 2020 6:51 pm ET

When I was growing up in North Carolina, my father sat me down for “the talk” about how to behave should I ever find myself in an encounter with a police officer. He wanted me to understand the risks I could face as an African-American should such an encounter go the wrong way.

That was more than 30 years ago. Yet even now the risks my father warned about loom large for minorities in America, as demonstrated by George Floyd’s tragic and deadly Memorial Day encounter with a Minneapolis police officer. I am all too familiar with the heartbreak and pain that so many in the black community experience as they see such events play out repeatedly, and I understand the demand for change from peaceful protesters around the country.

But there’s nothing heartening in the emerging images of violence and property destruction. Violence and vandalism serve no constructive purpose.

President Trump appointed me the first African-American to lead a federal banking regulatory agency, the National Credit Union Administration—the independent agency that oversees the nation’s federally insured credit unions. Since I assumed the chairmanship last year, much of my focus has been on building and reinforcing places that have fallen behind, often in areas where opportunity is limited, like hard-pressed urban neighborhoods and rural communities fighting decline.

Healing begins with strengthening our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Diversity is important, but only if it’s more than simply “checking the right boxes.” Inclusion requires a deep commitment to cultural change. As vice chairman of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council, a formal interagency body that makes recommendations to promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions, I have called upon regulators to make inclusion a major priority in the financial industry.

But the change must reach beyond government agencies. Private industry should support inclusive growth. In that regard, it has been encouraging to see so many bank and credit union leaders make supportive statements about diversity and inclusion.

I encourage financial leaders to bolster those statements with a strengthened commitment to community building through financial inclusion. This includes giving more working families access to tools that help them achieve financial independence, providing more young people with the educational and vocational training they need to succeed, and nurturing the material conditions that allow people to prosper and thrive. Each of these will help Americans build stronger communities and a healthier society.

And finally, let’s renew our commitment to having the difficult conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion needed to foster and nurture greater understanding. These aren’t controversial principles. They’re the forces that bring us together and serve as sources of enrichment, strength and unity.

Mr. Hood is chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-banks-can-help-america-heal-11591311103

Members will begin receiving their government stimulus checks this week. This has caused an abnormally high call volume for Natco’s call center.

If your deposit is in the first round of deposits, it will be posted this Wednesday (4/15). Please check your account Wednesday morning using your mobile banking app, home banking, or PAL to verify if your check has been deposited.

If your deposit is not part of this Wednesday’s file, the EARLIEST it will be deposited is next Wednesday (4/22). Please check your account on 4/22 to see if your deposit was posted.

We will post the files each Wednesday in for the next several weeks.

Eligible taxpayers who electronically filed their taxes in 2018 or 2019 will receive their deposit automatically through direct deposit into the account used for their previous tax filing.

The purpose of the stimulus money is to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, so Natco Credit Union WILL NOT be applying these stimulus funds to overdrawn accounts, delinquent accounts, garnishments.  

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launched a new web tool allowing quick registration for stimulus payments for those who don’t normally file a tax return.

According to the IRS, the Treasury plans to develop a web-based portal in the coming weeks for individuals to provide their banking information to the IRS online. This will allow individuals to receive payments immediately as opposed to checks being mailed.

The IRS has provided important information regarding the stimulus checks on this page – Economic Impact Payments What You Need to Know.