Vantage Wraps Up a Successful Holiday Giving Season

As our 2022 Holiday Giving program came to a close, we looked at the overall impact. We give back on a year-round basis, but the generosity is raised to new heights during the holiday season. 2022 was no different.

Giving back was a true team effort, with involvement from both our employees and members. Vantage employees purchased 50/50 tickets, baked and bought items at our bake sale and donated money for dress down days, while our members pitched in by donating spare change, canned goods and children’s gifts.

Providing Christmas Presents and Thanksgiving Dinners for the St. Louis Region
The combined effort of employees and members raised $7,000, allowing us to donate nearly 600 presents and 14 Thanksgiving dinners.

Vantage employees delivered 336 presents to local children at the annual Cardinals Care holiday party. 164 of them were brought to young patients at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, and the remaining 92 went into donation boxes for Cottleville Fire & Rescue Toys for Tots.

The Thanksgiving dinners assembled by Vantage were served to families in need by the following organizations:

Be the Light Foundation
Dardenne Elementary School
Family Forward
Feed My People
Loaves and Fishes
Herculaneum High School
Salvation Army
St. John Missionary Baptist Church
St. Pius X High School in Festus
St. Vincent DePaul at St. Norbert’s Church
Wentzville Food Pantry
Word of Life Lutheran School

The Priceless Gift of Holiday Cheer

For the third year in a row, Vantage employees each received a $50 Mastercard® gift card to personally give to someone in the community—a neighbor, first responder, healthcare worker, teacher, stranger in the store—to show gratitude and spread holiday cheer.

A few employees proudly shared their heartwarming experiences:

“As I drove to school over the past few years, I saw a man. First, he was sitting in his chair outside (obviously recovering from something). I kept thinking, ‘He needs a new chair.’ Then for the next few years, I saw him walking for exercise. Every day, he was an inspiration to me. When given this gift card to gift to someone, I immediately thought of him. I stopped by his home and met his wife outside. I explained what I was doing and why, and she let me know her Carey had passed away a few months ago. My heart sunk a little as I wished I could have met Carey in person. I told her how much I had admired his perseverance walking all those years in all kinds of weather, and that I hoped this would bless her in some way. She was so grateful and this encounter made my heart happy. Thank you Vantage Credit Union!” – Geda, Personal Teller Center

“I shared mine with my favorite wrap artist at Subway and she was ecstatic. She always has such a kind and pleasant demeanor, even when she’s the only person working. She said she appreciated our generosity so much.” – William, Personal Teller Center

“I gave mine to a dad that was in the baby section of Walmart buying supplies for his newborn. He was there with his newborn and another young daughter. He was very thankful.” – Kelly, Investment Services

“I was in line at Walgreens and the lady in front of me had a cart full of items. As the cashier checked her items and gave the lady her total, she had a ticket that she handed to the cashier to earn $7.00 rewards if she spent a certain dollar amount, but the cashier declined it. I felt really bad for the lady because she seemed sad that she couldn’t use her rewards. She turned, handed it to me with a smile and said, ‘Hopefully you can use it.’ I told her thank you. After I checked out, I ran out to her car, handed her the gift card and told her Merry Christmas from Vantage Credit Union. It felt great to do something nice for somebody who did something nice for me, as she was expecting nothing in return.” – Lisa, Accounting

Each of our Holiday Giving efforts helped to make someone’s day, and in the end, that’s what means the most to our team. Even though the holiday season has wrapped up, our involvement in our communities will remain throughout 2023 and beyond. Stay tuned to see how we give back!