Virginia Credit Union Donates 900 Books to Children’s Hospital of Richmond; Celebrates Recent $30,000 Donation

Virginia Credit Union recently donated 900 books for young readers to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, celebrating a longtime partnership and spotlighting our commitment to financial education. The books cover a range of money management and personal finance topics for kids and teens.

“We all know how important reading is to the development of language skills, and research also tells us how important it is to reach kids at an early age with basic lessons on money management and personal finance. Providing financial education resources, such as personal finance-themed books, is yet another important part of our financial education work at Virginia Credit Union,” notes VACU’s Cherry Dale, Senior Vice President of Financial Education. “Being able to provide books for patients also helps normalize the hospital environment and can often be a welcome distraction during exams and treatment.”

This marks the second year VACU has provided CHoR with money management-themed books for kids and teens. The credit union also has a longstanding partnership with the Richmond Public Library system, which involves working with library staff to curate collections of relatable, multicultural books that teach critical personal finance concepts at a level appropriate for pre-K through sixth grade levels.

“Virginia Credit Union has been a top Children's Miracle Network partner, supporting CHoR through fundraising initiatives and volunteerism,” says Laura Dwyer, CHoR’s Director, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Program. “We value VACU's shared mission to bring financial literacy resources to the patients and families in our Family Resource Center and look forward to the growth of our partnership.”

During 2024, VACU reached more than 57,000 kindergarten-12th grade students with personal finance lessons through classroom presentations in our area schools and through program partnerships with a host of community organizations, including Junior Achievement, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, and GiSTEM Inc. Learn more at vacu.org/learn/financial-education.

VACU’s support of local children’s hospitals dates back decades. In March, the credit union donated more than $30,000 to CHoR, bringing our total support for the hospital to more than $336,000 during the past decade. VACU’s Member One division donated $5,000 in March to Roanoke-based Carilion Children’s Hospital, marking $101,890 in support for the hospital during the past decade.