In early 2018, Desert Financial Credit Union made a big announcement -- it had committed $2M in funding over three years to ‘1 Darn Cool School’, the in-house education center at Phoenix Children’s.
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Desert Financial and Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation Execs Celebrate New, $3M Commitment. FROM LEFT: Jeff Meshey, President & CEO of Desert Financial; Tim Harrison, Vice President Corporate Partnerships and Special Events for Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation; Ron Amstutz, Executive Vice President of Desert Financial; Susan O’Donnell, Manager, Corporate Account Management at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. (Photo: Business Wire)
This week, the credit union had another big announcement -- they’ve donated the planned $2M, and made a new pledge: $3M, donated to the program over four years. This funding commitment will make Desert Financial the largest-ever donor to ‘1 Darn Cool School’, bringing its total to over $10M.
Desert Financial’s support enables children to experience as much normalcy as possible while staying on top of their studies which are taught by the school’s Master’s-level teachers.
“Desert Financial Credit Union’s commitment to the children and families at Phoenix Children’s speaks volumes about their culture of generosity and community spirit. Their transformational investments sustain top caliber teachers, technology and support at ‘1 Darn Cool School’ — and they don’t stop there. Leadership and staff members at Desert Financial also make connections with the teachers who work so hard to help children learn while they heal,” says Steven Schnall, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We’re profoundly grateful for this latest gift, and for their continued partnership.”
The funds will be used toward operating costs for ‘1 Darn Cool School’, which is 100% philanthropically supported.
“‘1 Darn Cool School’ is an important part of the treatment process for so many patients at Phoenix Children’s,” said Ron Amstutz, Executive Vice President of Desert Financial. “We’ve had a great year at Desert Financial, and felt that paying our success forward to such an incredible program - one rooted in education, just like our credit union - would be a wonderful match.”
The education programming, which began in 1985, is available to all children who are currently enrolled in Kindergarten through 12th grade or special education 5 to 21 years, and are expected to miss more than 10 days of school (with an inpatient stay of 3 days).
In addition to holding a current Arizona teaching certificate, all teachers have earned a master’s degree in education. Additionally, all classroom volunteers have a professional teaching background.
About Desert Financial Credit Union
With more than 80 years in Arizona, Desert Financial is the state’s largest homegrown credit union with $5 billion in assets, more than 320,000 members and nearly 50 locations across the Valley. As a not-for-profit cooperative, Desert Financial prides itself on sharing success with its members, its team and the wider community. In 2019, Desert Financial gave nearly $11M to Valley nonprofits, the community and members. Learn more at www.desertfinancial.com.
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