Episode list

This 8-minute documentary tells the story of St. Luke Credit Union through the vivid recollections of two of its most devoted senior members, Mr. Charles Lee Sutton and Mr. Timothy Bazemore, Sr. Self-Help is proud to have their stories and to share them with you. For us, this is especially true in the case of Mr. Sutton who, sadly, passed away in July 2017, just six months after graciously sharing his childhood memories and his love for St. Luke Credit Union.

Second Federal, located in Chicago's Little Village, began providing banking services to immigrants in 1882. When the local population shifted from European to Latino, many banks left. But Second Federal stayed and helped its new customers thrive-until the housing crisis threatened massive foreclosures. This is the story of the resilience of this community and the remarkable trust that is Second Federal's legacy.

Scotland Credit Association was created in 1964 to serve textile workers employed by a series of companies, including J.P. Stevens. Through good times and economic downturns, Scotland provided financial services and loans to its members. In 1998, Scotland expanded its charter, enabling it to serve the entire community in and around Laurinburg, NC. Today as part of Self-Help, the credit union continues its ongoing commitment to the community and helps members save, invest and find a place to call home.

Part of Self-Help's history goes back to 1956, when DuPont purchased land to start the nation's first silicon plant in Brevard, North Carolina. The company evolved over the years, at one time employing 1500 people. Employees formed tight bonds during that era. As one way to help each other, they formed a credit union that became Carolina Mountains Credit Union and, more recently, Self-Help Credit Union. This is the story of a community where bonds remain strong, and a mission of economic opportunity continues as a key part of the legacy.

This is the story of Seaway Bank, a once-prominent South Side Chicago financial institution that at its height rose to become America's largest Black-owned bank. Beginning with its 1960s social justice and economic equality underpinnings, we trace Seaway Bank's 52-year history through first-hand accounts, archival images, contemporary footage and narration. In doing so, we honor the achievements of an institution that invested in, and empowered, communities of black people, making a lasting name for itself in the process.

The story of People's Community Partnership Federal Credit Union, chartered in 2000 in Oakland, California, is deeply tied to the history of Oakland itself. Caught in the crossfires of de-industrialization and transportation development, West Oakland experienced job losses and higher poverty, and many residents were displaced. As businesses left the neighborhood, check cashers and predatory lenders moved in and mainstream banks vanished. For many years, low-income residents of West Oakland had nowhere to go for affordable financial services. In the late 1990s, a local activist named Sandy Turner approached the East Bay Community Law Center for help. Maeve Elise Brown, an East Bay Community Law Center attorney, listened. Together they organized other concerned people in the community to explore viable options. After surveying the needs of the community, they decided to pursue a charter for a new credit union. The result was People's Community Partnership Federal Credit Union. This is the story of a credit union that, with hard work by many people, has brought financial opportunity and access to a severely underserved community.

During much of the twentieth century, North Carolina was home to the largest textile company in the world: Burlington Industries. BI started in 1923, when a young veteran named J. Spencer Love established a textile plant in Burlington, NC. Eventually the company moved to Greensboro and built satellite facilities in a number of locations around the state. As the business grew, company leaders realized their employees could benefit from affordable financial services and loans offered by a credit union. In the late 1970s, BI created the Burlington Employees Federal Credit Union. When the textile industry began to shrink in the U.S., the credit union adapted to the times by expanding its services to the wider community. In 1988, it became Choice Federal Credit Union, led by CEO Martha Miller. Later, in 2002, the name was modified to Choice Community Credit Union. This video features interviews from Ms. Miller, Park Davidson (BI executive and Choice board member), Carol Lyles (BI employee and credit union member) and credit union staffers Lavern Coley and Susan Padgett. They all echo the same theme: the credit union has always been like a tight-knit family.

In 1974, Kern Central Credit Union was formed in Bakersfield, California for the employees of the Kern County Refinery and other nearby employer groups. With the mission, "A Key to a Better Tomorrow," Kern Central expanded its membership beyond oil field workers to serve individuals, especially the underserved in Kern County. In 1995 Kern Central merged with the Farm Workers Credit Union, which was founded in 1963 by civil rights activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. When the Farm Workers CU started, agricultural workers had little or no access to mainstream financial institutions. The Farm Workers CU helped improve the lives of farm workers by offering them new savings tools and access to loans. Helen Chavez, Cesar Chavez's wife, served as the credit union's manager, overseeing a business that grew to serve 100,000 farm worker members. This documentary includes interviews with credit union members and community leaders who remember the early days of both Kern Central and the Farm Workers CU. The timeline goes through the merger with Self-Help Federal Credit Union, which occurred in 2010. Today Self-Help maintains its tradition as a "sí se puede" credit union by working to create economic opportunities for underserved families throughout California's southern central valley.

A Sister Act: Miracles in Apopka, Florida. In the early 1970s, a group of determined nuns helped bring better working conditions, health and economic opportunity to a poor farming community in central Florida. They also started a credit union, which became Community Trust Federal CU. Today that credit union is part of the Self-Help family. In this short documentary we trace the history of Community Trust Federal and the legacy and inspiration it brings to us today. Self-Help is a family of nonprofit organizations working to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all. Since 1980, Self-Help has grown to include two credit unions, a loan fund, and a research and policy group.