MEMBER PROFILE

Diane Hecht

While living in New Jersey in 1995, I decided to move to Ithaca to care for my elderly mother and to purchase a home here. My daughter set up appointments for me at Alternatives to discuss obtaining a mortgage and I remember her telling me not to dress up "NJ Style" as the small credit union on State Street in Ithaca was not like any bank I'd ever seen. She was so right! In the lobby dogs were barking and waiting for their snacks from the very casually dressed tellers, while babies were playing in areas provided by the Credit Union - that was the beginning of my love affair with Alternatives.

Over the past 13 years since offering me that first mortgage, as both Alternatives and I have grown and prospered, they have provided Home Equity loans to help me care for my mother, create my own small business, and this past spring to re-mortgage and pay off debts. The wonderful people in the Alternatives mortgage department offer amazing expertise in a very caring manner. Many thanks to all of you at Alternatives who offer your services for our community!

Would you like to assist us in helping people attain financial self-sufficiency? Meeting people's needs is what we do, and we do it best when our members lend a hand. If you're interested, consider volunteering! The following opportunities are available:

Join a Board Committee
Our Board Committees are a great way to learn about what it takes to make the Credit Union run. You don't need to be a member of the board to join. Find out more about our various committees and see which one is right for you.  If interested, please contact the Staff Liaison listed on the board committee page.

Help Prepare Taxes for our Free Tax Preparation Program
We provide free tax preparation to our low-income community population. The success of our program depends on help from the community. If you're interested, we'd love to have you join us. E-mail Brian for more info.

Share your Expertise with Alternatives Businesses
Business CENTS is looking for a few good speakers. Do you have an expertise you'd like to share with small business owners? E-mail us with your idea and we'll let you know if we think the fit is good. We'd be happy to talk to you about how we can use your skills.

Student Credit Union
The Student Credit Union is a program designed to help young people learn financial education through credit union services. Student volunteers are trained as tellers and help their peers open new accounts, make savings deposits or withdrawals, cash checks, learn about financial tools and develop a saving habit. This is an excellent opportunity to assist in developing a financial educational model for public schools. To volunteer, e-mail Joe.