Community is truly the heart of Suncoast Credit Union. People helping people is part of the credit union philosophy and we sure do embrace it around here!

Suncoast employees are already active in the community, but this is the one day a year where the entire company is out in the community volunteering and completing service projects for the organization of their choice.

This year we had an astounding 1,018 employees, friends and family members volunteered for 2,485 hours in a single day to benefit 50 organizations! The value for this one day of giving is about $59,988, according to data from the Independent Sector.

Every moment from Pay It Forward Day 2017 will be cherished by our Suncoast team, but we want you to share in the memories as well! Check out some of the wonderful causes we supported this year:

---

Helped Feed People in Need

Pay It Forward Day brings people together, including Suncoast employees! Team members from five different departments came together to help feed the hungry with food from the Palmona Park Food Pantry.

Suncoast employees from MCC, Learning and Development, Communication and Design, Sales and Service and Member Legacy passed out food to about 100 people in the community. They brought Suncoast bags for people to fill up with food, helped to unload the food from the truck and assisted people with their food selections.

---

Created an Empowering Restroom for the Centre for Girls

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Suncoast’s marketing team put their creativity to good use by creating an inspiring restroom for the Centre for Girls. This organization helps to empower girls ages 5-14 with enriching programs like art, education, green living and health and wellness.

Our marketing team purchased supplies and created a restroom full of bright colors, glamorous details and most importantly, positive messages to help the girls’ self-esteem.

Creating the bathroom was fun, but the best part was definitely seeing the looks on the girls’ faces when they saw the finished project. Their hugs and gratitude meant the world to us!

---

Organized a Carnival Day for the Children at A Kid’s Place

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Suncoast loves to help children, so it was no surprise that part of our ITM teller team chose to help A Kid’s Place for Pay It Forward Day this year. A Kid’s Place is a unique non-profit organization in Tampa providing foster care and a loving home for abused, neglected, or abandoned children.

Our ITM teller team went all out and organized an amazing carnival day for the kids at A Kid’s Place. They had inflatable slides, obstacle courses, face painting, a dunk tank, games, prizes, snow cones, water balloon fights and even a DJ dance party!

These brave kids are wonderful and our ITM teller team made sure to give them a fun day they’ll never forget!

---

Hosted a Tea Party at the Royal Palms Retirement Home

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Have we mentioned how creative our employees are? Our Charlotte Harbor Service Center employees hosted a tea party at the Royal Palms Retirement Home for Pay It Forward Day. They even dressed up in Victorian attire!

Some of the residents don’t get visitors very often, so this was a chance for them to enjoy the company of a lovely group of people while enjoying tea and pastries. Our Suncoast team also raffled off prizes and gave small potted plants to the residents to keep in their rooms to commemorate the day.

---

Showed Appreciation for First Responders

• 
• 
• 

First responders do so much for our community, so our Spring Hill and Plant City Service Centers employees wanted to do something nice for them! Our team created baskets of goodies for local first responders and delivered them in-person to the men and women who protect us each day.

After thanking these local heroes, our Plant City team even got the chance to check out an antique fire truck. How cool is that?

It really was an incredible day. We’re already excited about next year! To see more photos from Pay It Forward Day, search #SuncoastGivesBack17 on social media.