CommunityAmerica Credit Union has opened a branch in the University of Missouri-St. Louis Millennium Student Center, its eighth in the region.
“Opening the branch and collaborating with the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is really just an extension and further evolution of our commitment in the St. Louis market,” said Kathy O’Neill, who serves as the St. Louis market president at CommunityAmerica. “Our goal, as we’ve said, is to improve the financial lives and to meet people where they are.”
UMSL and CommunityAmerica are also developing the Triton Financial Wellness Program. The UMSL Center for Excellence in Financial Counseling, led by Director Mark Fetters, has been working with team members from the credit union to design a comprehensive curriculum, which will include financial education activities, hands-on workshops and personalized coaching sessions.
“That will help strengthen the financial acumen and money management habits for Triton students,” said Whitney Bartelli, CommunityAmerica’s chief marketing and strategy officer. “Students learn so many other things throughout college, but they often leave unprepared. They may not know about a credit score, may not know about just day-to-day money management. So, I’m super excited about that element of the partnership.”
CommunityAmerica is also partnering with UMSL’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center and Executive Director Scott Morris, to provide support for the Anchor Accelerator Program, which assists early-stage, scalable businesses in the region as they grow through capital, mentorship and experiential learning.
The program will now be known as the Anchor Accelerator Program Powered by CommunityAmerica, and the credit union will provide mentorship, financial services and learning opportunities to support the founders as they grow their businesses.