By: Marketing

Marketing @ 2:00 pm

Did you know that Michigan First Credit Union is helping communities, students and charitable organizations across metropolitan Detroit by providing financial contributions, free services, sponsorships and scholarships? In 2009 to date, we’ve helped 55 organizations and provided more than $64,000 in financial contributions, and each year, we donate more than $80,000 to charitable and community resources.

We also make our community room available for community groups, school districts and professional organizations to use free of charge.  Annually, more than 7,000 community members using this free meeting space.  Not only do we sponsor a number of community events, but we’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to local students to help them get to college. For more information and to stay updated on our community activities, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.  For more specific information on our youth programs, check out www.MichiganFirstKids.com.

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By: Marketing

Marketing @ 12:55 pm

American Red Cross Nurse Kelly Marklow helps Mr. Harold “Zack” Bouey donate blood during the Michigan First Credit Union/Southfield Lathrup Optimist Club Blood Drive held July 17, at the credit union’s Evergreen Branch in Lathrup Village. The drive surpassed its goal and netted 24 pints of blood. The goal was 23 pints of blood.

Jeff Mueller, city administrator of Lathrup Village, gave blood during the Michigan First Credit Union/Southfield Lathrup Optimist Club Blood Drive held July 17, at the credit union’s Evergreen Branch in Lathrup Village. American Red Cross Nurse Mary Carie assists Mueller.

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By: Marketing

Marketing @ 12:08 pm

Michigan First Credit Union awarded $1,000 scholarships to 82 graduating high school seniors during its annual student scholarship reception on June 24.  The scholarship program honors college-bound high school seniors who are members of Michigan First and attending one of the participating high schools within our 44 served communities.

In the past seven years, we’ve been proud to have awarded over $400,000 in scholarships!

For more information on how to enroll your kids in our MichiganFirst@School, MoneyKids or MoneyTeens programs or to get a head start on financial education with your little ones, check out www.MichiganFirstKids.com

Scholarship recipient Anum Chandhry is featured in the photo above (center), along with Nadine Tibbs-Stallworth, Board Member (left) and Michael Poulos, President and CEO of Michigan First (right).

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By: Sandra

Sandra @ 10:49 am

Michigan First partnered with the American Red Cross (ARC) for its annual Blanket Days campaign held November 2008, through January 2009. The Credit Union branches served as drop-off locations for donations of new, twin-sized blankets for the homeless and needy in the Detroit metro area. The Credit Union’s new Wyoming Branch on 7 Mile Road & Wyoming in Detroit, hosted the ARC’s kickoff event in early November.

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By: Lena

Lena @ 12:02 pm

Michigan First Credit Union Is Top Place to Work
Michigan First earns three awards for workplace excellence

Michigan First Credit Union, a leading financial institution serving over 44 communities in metro Detroit, has further solidified itself as a top place to work in metro Detroit, having earned recognition from three regional organizations for its outstanding focus on diversity, high quality working standards and dedication to team member
satisfaction.

“Michigan First has always strived to offer the best working environment to our team members, who are our greatest assets,” said Michael Poulos, president and CEO of Michigan First Credit Union. “It is a tremendous honor to have our efforts to create a diverse and supportive workplace recognized with these prestigious awards.”

The accolades include:

Recognition as a “Diversity Focused Company” from Corp! Magazine for clearly defining and monitoring diversity success and demonstrating how diversity efforts add value to the company;

A “101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” award from The Michigan Business & Professional Association, which acknowledges Michigan First’s imagination and conviction to create organizational value and business results through their policies and best practices in human resource management; and

The Detroit Free Press “Top Workplaces” award, which honors Michigan First’s exceptional work standards, client and team member satisfaction.

There are many different aspects that go into making Michigan First a great place to work in metro Detroit. Some benefits include fully paid health benefits for its team members and their families, market or above market wages, additional bonuses and monthly incentives. It also offers regular contests to retail and lending team members to cross sell products and services to increase income, and each team leader has the ability to recognize strong performers with discretionary bonuses, gift certificates, free lunches and other such perks. Team members can also enjoy the free use of a fitness center – located in the Lathrup Village main branch – complete with a locker room and showers and a recreation room with foosball, pool table, darts, air hockey and other amenities.

Diversity is another key element in making Michigan First a great place to work. Michigan First promotes diversity and inclusion by providing a place to work where all individuals are respected, honored, supported and rewarded on the basis of their and professional achievements and contributions. Michigan First believes commitment to diversity and inclusion strengthens the company and sets it apart from the competition.

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By: Lauren

Lauren @ 4:13 pm

Michigan First Credit Union Continues Leadership with High-Tech ATMs and Member Services Years Ahead of Banks Breaking into Market with ‘New’ Introductions

Michigan First Installs No Fee High-Speed Coin Counters for Members;MoneyWorks(R) ATMs Accept Coins and Cash Checks to the Penny

LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich., May 30, 2008 – ATMs that can accept coins, paper currency and checks without an envelope; can scan checks; and cash checks to the penny. These are just some of the innovative, convenient services that Michigan First Credit Union has offered its members since 2004. Now, Michigan First has introduced no fee high-speed coin counters for its members. It’s all part of its commitment to provide leading-edge technology and outstanding customer service.

“While some banks are introducing ‘new’ ATMs that scan checks and don’t require envelopes for deposits, Michigan First Credit Union was one of the first financial institutions in North America to introduce this technology at its branches more than four years ago,” said Michael Poulos, president and CEO of Michigan First Credit Union. “In addition to these convenient services, our ATMS – called MoneyWorks(R) Banking Centers – can accept coins and cash checks to the penny. We have a number of other innovative services in the works to further serve our members.”

To complement the coin counters that are incorporated into the MoneyWorks Banking Centers, Michigan First Credit Union is also in the process of installing high-speed coin counters at each of its branches and is already in use at its main branch in Lathrup Village, Mich. The high-speed coin counters can process approximately 3,000 coins a minute compared to the ATM counters that process 700 coins a minute. This service is free for credit union members, while non-members are charged a nominal fee.

“Every penny counts, especially in these tough economic times,” Poulos said. “Our members have saved time and money by using these convenient services.”

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By: Lauren

Lauren @ 3:17 pm

Michigan First Credit Union was recently featured in an article in the Detroit Free Press. Michigan First member, Isabelle Lewis, used her stimulus check to contribute to the savings of her grandchildren. Please find the complete article with pictures below.

Where did stimulus funds go?
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/COL07/806290600
Detroit Free Press, SUSAN TOMPOR
June 29, 2008

Whenever she has extra cash, Isabelle Lewis deposits $20 or so into each of the savings accounts that she opened for her three grandsons.

But after she got her economic stimulus money, Lewis of Lathrup Village had another idea. One June day, she took three crisp $100 bills to the credit union and brought along her Triple A’s — 8-year-old Alton, who likes to be called AJ, and his 5-year-old twin brothers Alexander and Alston Andrews. “It’s like free money, so I just share with my grandkids,” Lewis remarked during their trip to the Michigan First Credit Union in Lathrup Village where, truthfully, the boys focused more on the fish in the bank’s tank than their own catch of the day.

So what is everyone doing with all that money? More than 130 million Americans will get a tax stimulus rebate either by direct deposit or paper check by mid-July.

I talked to five diverse Michigan households in April about what kind of money they thought they would get — and what they thought they’d do with it.

Now, two months later, I’ll tell you how life — and tax glitches — actually tripped up many people.

Some get more than expected

Lewis — who retired from Detroit Public Schools in 1999 — saw her money on schedule via direct deposit. But she received $600 on May 6, not the $300 she first expected.

Lewis didn’t realize that some retirees would receive a bigger payout.

Lower-income seniors and disabled veterans who normally do not have to file a return are eligible this year to receive a minimum stimulus payment of $300 for singles or $600 for married couples, plus $300 for each qualifying child if they filed a 2007 return.

But if better-off retirees had 2007 net income tax liability of at least $600 for single filers or $1,200 for joint filers, they would be eligible to receive stimulus checks in those amounts rather than other $300 or $600 minimum amounts, according to Mark Luscombe, an analyst for CCH in Riverwoods, Ill.

Some wealthier individuals, including retirees, did not qualify for the stimulus checks.

Lewis planned to give half her money to her grandsons for their college savings all along. Her own mad money account is flusher, too.

“This $300 will just sit there until I need something big.”

Check is still in the mail
Janet and Fred Pattan, who live about 30 miles outside Escanaba, need $850 for firewood to heat their home in the Upper Peninsula. The wood should last three years, but they won’t take delivery until they have their $600 stimulus check.

When Janet (Maudie) Pattan, 64, saw my number on caller ID last week, she chimed: “I still don’t have any money.”

They got a letter in early June from the Internal Revenue Service. They didn’t file the correct original form; they mailed a copy of the return instead. They had to then mail the original.

Teresa and Steve Smith, both 43, had a May 9 target date for their direct deposit, based on Social Security numbers listed in the IRS table.

The Northville couple saw their $2,100 check June 14.

No one knew it in late April, but thousands of people who used TurboTax and other tax-preparation services later discovered they had to wait for a paper check because they agreed to have fees for services deducted from their refunds.

Eligible individuals are receiving up to $600 for singles — or $1,200 for married couples filing joint returns. Plus families are receiving $300 for each eligible child under age 17.

The couple already has spent $1,295 on gutters for their home. At one point, Teresa and her husband wanted to go on vacation with their children: Adam, 16; Madeleine, 13, and Jacob, 10.

“Before gas prices went crazy, we were thinking of a drive through the Upper Peninsula,” she said. But now it costs nearly $62 to fill up the family’s Pontiac Aztek. It’s more for the family’s full-size Ford van.

They’re not sure how they might spend the remaining $805.

Second thoughts on splurging
Yulette Barnes, 36, says sky-high gas prices and a sky-high jobless rate in Michigan stopped her from buying some Narciso Rodriguez perfume.

“I can’t really see myself spending $100 for perfume at this time,” Barnes said.

She definitely planned to do that, if she got the money around Mother’s Day as she thought would happen.

But Barnes had to wait for the check because of the tax software mix-up.

The check popped up in her mailbox June 24. She received $704 — $404 as head of a household and $300 for her 4-year-old daughter Kaitlyn Rose.

And six weeks after Mother’s Day, she wasn’t feeling quite as giddy.

She’s paying about $350 a month to fill up her Chrysler Sebring.

Barnes, who lives in downtown Detroit, has a job as a legal assistant for Grant, Busch & Kirschner, a Southfield law firm that specializes in workers compensation and Social Security issues.

And her friend who has three children lost her job about two months ago and is still struggling to meet her bills.

Barnes lent about $300 of the check to her friend.

Barnes did shop a little. A day after she got the check, she spent about $280 on three pairs of sandals at Macy’s and a purse. And she spent another $100 or so on shoes and earrings for Kaitlyn Rose. No money ended up in her daughter’s savings account, as planned.

A nasty surprise

Michael Lary, event coordinator for the City of Ferndale, didn’t think he’d get a check at first. Then, he went to www.irs.gov and discovered he qualified for a $300 rebate.

He planned to take a trip to Chicago if the check arrived before the Memorial Day weekend.

No check, no trip, no clue.

So, as he waited, he kept thinking of new things to buy. One week, it was a recliner. Another, a $465 Schwinn bike.

Then, a letter arrived from the IRS.

The federal government withheld his $300 stimulus payment and told him that he owed back taxes and penalties in 2006 for his casino winnings.

Lary said he won about $2,000 at a casino. Now, he’s working through this tax mess. He still could owe about $500. But he plans to see if the casinos have records for his gambling on casino player’s cards for 2006. Those records could show that he lost more money than he won that year, so he said he is hoping that he might not owe as much money.

“I forgot that I won the money at the casino — and I didn’t report it,” he admitted, noting that he did his own taxes via a Web site. “It was my own fault.”

Contact SUSAN TOMPOR at 313-222-8876 or stompor@freepress.com.

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By: Steve

Steve @ 6:08 pm

Michigan First Supports MLK High School’s Olympic Performance

On March 5, Michigan First presented a $10,000 check to the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School Band. The Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School Band, one of only five U.S. bands invited to perform, has been selected to represent the State of Michigan during the Pre-Olympics Music Festival in China on July 1-7, 2008.

But it will cost $240,000 and they need our help.

Michigan First Credit Union is making it easy for any one to make any size donation. We have set up an account at the credit union for those wishing to donate funds.

To make any size donation, either:
(1) Visit any Michigan First Branch, or
(2) Mail your donation to:

Michigan First Credit Union
ATTN: MLK Band
27000 Evergreen Rd.
Lathrup Village, MI 48076

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By: Steve

Steve @ 11:50 am

A Commitment to Our Community – Scholarships and Participating High Schools

Michigan First Credit Union is pleased to offer one-time, non-renewable $1,000 scholarships to selected graduating high school seniors who are members of Michigan First Credit Union and attending a high school listed below.* The recipients are determined by each high school’s selection committee or designee and are selected on the basis of academic achievement, community involvement, special talents, leadership, or civic and social responsibility. Scholarships awarded will be applied to the student’s first year of college only. Application guidelines must be followed as stated to be considered.

You can get a scholarship application packet from your school counselor.

Once completed, be sure to submit the application to your school counselor, not directly to Michigan First Credit Union.

The high school’s scholarship selection committee or designee will choose one winner from each school. The school must return all application packets, including the selected winner to Michigan First Credit Union by Friday, April 18, 2008.

If you have any questions, please be sure to call Gwen Davis at 248-395-4133.

High Schools Eligible for Michigan First Credit Union Scholarship Program

Adlai Stevenson
Andover High School
Annapolis High School
Athens High School
Barsamian Prep
Berkley High School
Breithaupt Career & Tech Center
Cass Technical High School
Catherine Ferguson
Center Line High School
Central High School
Chadsey High School
Churchill High School
Clarenceville High School
Clawson High School
Cody High School
Communications & Media Arts
Cooley High School
Cousino High School
Crestwood High School
Crockett Technical & Career High School
Crockett Technical High School
Crosman High School
Davis Aerospace Technical
Dearborn High School
Denby High School
Detroit City High School
Detroit High School for the Arts
Detroit Technology High School
Douglas Academy
East Detroit High School
Ecorse Community High School
Edsel Ford High School
Farmington High School
Ferndale High School
Finney High School
Fitzgerald High School
Fordson High School
Franklin High School
Fraser High School
Golightly Career & Tech Center
Grosse Pointe North High School
Grosse Pointe South High School
Hamtramck High School
Harper Woods High School
Harrison High School
Hazel Park High School
Henry Ford High School
Henry Ford Academy-Dearborn
Highland Park Career Academy
Highland Park Community High School
International Academy for Young Women – Detroit
International Academy
Kettering High School
Lahser High School
Lake Shore High School
Lakeview High School
Lamphere High School
Lincoln High School
Madison High School
Martin Luther King
Mumford High School
Murray-Wright High School
Nancy Boykin Academy
North Farmington High School
Northwestern High School
Oak Park High School
Osborn High School
Pershing High School
Randolph Career Tech Center
Redford Union High School
Renaissance High School
River Rouge High School
Robichaud Senior High School
Roseville High School
Royal Oak High School
Seaholm High School
South Lake High School
Southeastern High School
Southfield Christian School
Southfield High School
Southfield Lathrup High School
Southwestern High School
Sterling Heights High School
Thurston High School
Troy High School
University of Detroit Jesuit High School
Warren Mott High School
Warren Woods Tower High School
West Bloomfield High School
Western International High School
Winans Academy
Wylie E. Groves High School

*Schools not listed here are not eligible for scholarships.

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By: Lena

Lena @ 3:00 pm

Michigan First is committed to supporting our community by providing help in the form of sponsorships or donations. Every year we contribute to the local schools and organizations and sponsor selective events.

Our contributions include the following organizations:

Alternative for Girls

American Cancer Society

American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metro Detroit

Black United Fund

Boy Scouts of America – Detroit Area Council

Child Care Coordinating Council of Detroit/Wayne Count

Children’s Miracle Network

City Year Detroit

Detroit Branch – NAACP

Detroit Department of Elections

Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation

Detroit Institute of Arts

Detroit Science Center

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Detroit Urban League

Detroit Youth Foundation

Detroit Zoological Institute

Eastpointe Area Chamber of Commerce

Eastpointe Players

Fitzgerald Community Council

Focus Hope

Food Bank of Oakland County

Friends of Southfield

Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit

Gleaners Community Food Bank

Golightly Career and Technical Center

Habitat for Humanity

Hospice of Michigan

Huron Pointe Yacht Club

James Tatum Foundation for the Arts

Lathrup Village Foundation

Lawrence Tech University Scholarship Fund

Marygrove College

Metro Detroit Youth Day XXLL

Michigan Credit Union League

Michigan Credit Union Foundation

Michigan Franchise Expo

Museum of African American History

North Detroit Athletic Association

ProLiteracy Detroit

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic

Salvation Army

Skillman Foundation

Southfield Community Foundation Women’s Fund

Southfield Goodfellows

Southfield Parks and Gardens

South Oakland NAACP

Southfield Foundation

Southfield Youth Soccer League

THAW Fund - The Heat & Warmth Fund

United Negro College Fund

United Way Community Services

United Youth Sports Organization

University of Detroit – Mercy

Wayne County Community College

Wayne State University – Wayne First Campaign

Who’s Who in Black Detroit

World Medical Relief

WSU Detroit Orientation Institute

YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit

YWCA of Metropolitan Detroit

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