Debit card program to help St. Bernard's school

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
St. Bernard Elementary School in Fitchburg stands to gain from an IC Federal Credit Union debit card program. The credit union donates money to schools.
Principal Deborah Wright said she is very pleased with the program, which is also a way to publicize the school. She said information about the debit card was sent home to parents last week and was publicized in St. Bernard Parish’s bulletin.
The program is called “IC Cares to Share Debit Card Charitable Giving Program.”
The program started last year with other schools, and,  according to Jennifer Maguy, community relationship coordinator for the credit union, works this way:
Credit union members who have a checking account there, and those who become members by opening a checking account, request the program’s special VISA debit card, specifying the school or district they wish to support. Besides St. Bernard’s the program is available  for the Leominster Public Schools and Ashburnham-Westminster Regional Schools.
For a limited time, each new member opening a checking account, which is free, will receive $25, and St. Bernard’s will receive $25 for each one who signs up, Mrs. Maguy said.  People from anywhere can sign up, as they can do their banking online, and they do not have to be affiliated with the school.
Whenever credit union members purchase something with the card, the money to pay for it is taken directly out of their checking account, through the VISA network, she said.
Merchants pay IC an interchange fee when customers
 use the debit card, she said.
    “We have decided we want to give back some of our fee income to other non-profits,” Mrs. Maguy said, explaining that the credit union is also a non-profit. She has contacted St. Leo and St. Anna elementary schools in Leominster about participating in the program too.
    “I do financial literacy” in schools, she said. “I know teachers spend a lot of money out of their own pockets. Teachers everywhere.” Perhaps the money the credit union donates through the debit card program can ease that burden, she reasons.
    Mrs. Wright said the IC Credit Union was founded during the Depression by members of Immaculate Conception Parish in Fitchburg. The parish is now closed and the credit union is regional.
    “We are neighbors to the home office,” Mrs. Wright said, noting that the headquarters is near the school. St. Bernard Parish and its school have accounts with the credit union, and Mrs. Wright has been a member for more than 40 years.
    She asked if IC would advertise the school’s holiday fair last Christmas, and the credit union posted the information on a sign on its lawn, she said.
    “One conversation led to another,” and arrangements were made for the school to participate in the debit card program, she said.
    On Dec. 16 Tony Emerson, IC president and CEO, presented St. Bernard’s with a $2,000 donation from the credit union. Half was to kick off the debit card program and half was to help pay for the digital sign the school is raising money to purchase.
    Mrs. Wright said the lighted sign, which would be erected on the school property perpendicular to Summer Street, could cost as much as $40,000. It is to make the school more visible and announce what the school and its parish are doing.
    “We have learned that it’s not enough to have a wonderful school,” she said. “We have to make sure the community knows we have a wonderful school.” The sign and debit card program can both help with this marketing, as well as marketing the credit union and increasing its membership.
    
    – Individuals interested in getting a debit card to support St. Bernard’s can call 800-262-1001 or stop by any of the IC Credit Union’s branches – in Fitchburg, Leominster, Westminster, Worcester, Ayer, or Marlborough.
    Other schools and other non-profit organizations interested in partnering with IC Credit Union this way can call Jennifer Maguy at 978-353-1335 for