Christmas In April 2008

Over 12 WestStar employees and their families volunteered Saturday, April 26 to repair the home of a local Nevada senior in part of our annual Christmas in April event. Volunteers worked diligently to repair the home exterior as well as the front and backyard landscaping. Some of the repairs requested by the homeowner included house stucco and paint, removing excess brush and weeds, gate repair and paint, painting the property line fence and window sills, and planting a garden. Our homeowner was very pleased at all of the improvements, and it was all done in a days work! Thanks to all our volunteers for joining WestStar in their 6th year of participation! Click here to see Christmas in April pictures.

Christmas in April is part of Rebuilding Together, a national organization with over 200 affiliates across the United States. They recruit volunteers to rebuild homes of seniors or disabled veterans in addition to repairing homes and non-profit facilities that have been affected by natural disasters. All repairs are completed at absolutely no cost to the homeowner.

For more information on Rebuilding Together, or to find out how you can qualify for repairs to your home, please visit www.rtsnv.com/programs.html.

Kendall Tenney 5K

WestStar Credit Union employees participated in Kendall Tenney’s 7th Annual 5K Run For A Wish and 1 Mile Fun Walk on Saturday, Feb. 2.  This was WestStar’s third year participating as team Super Star.  Blue stars were available in each WestStar branch for a $1 donation and were placed on display with the donors name on them.  With the help of employees, members, and guests, WestStar was able to raise over $1,900!

Located in the Downtown Las Vegas area, the Kendall Tenney 5K is organized by the Make A Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada and is known to be the largest fundraising event in Nevada each year.  Proceeds for this year’s event totaled $296,149 which will be used to grant wishes for children with terminal ailments. 

WestStar would like to extend a special “Thank You” to the following employees and their families for participating:

Dan Paulson, President and CEO
Lorraine Vallone, Vice President of Human Resources and Training
Kevin Posey, Assistant Vice President of Finance
Rommelei Vidal-Carter (Administration) and daughter Kalani
Gary Selover (Collections)
Ruth Perryman (Lending)
Pat Johnson (Real Estate)
Barbara Crowley (Lending) and granddaughter Lexus
See pictures here.

Holiday Decorating at Hospital Pediatric Ward

Six employees from WestStar Credit Union joined volunteers from 6 other local credit unions and the Children's Miracle Network to decorate the Pediatric wing of St. Rose Dominican hospital on Dec. 13.

Volunteers were assigned to different sections of the hospital, with WestStar employees decorating the 4th floor lobby near the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. A Christmas tree was placed in the corner of the room alit with white lights, gold and silver ornaments, burgundy bows and large candy canes. WestStar even wrapped some of the pictures on the wall to look like gifts with large decorative bows, hung large candy canes, and placed holiday decals on the walls. A plastic snow globe that plays holiday songs was placed on the magazine table for the finishing touch. Children can press the button to hear their favorite holiday tunes and watch the snow fall inside the globe. And, as a special treat, Santa made a surprise appearance to visit all the girls and boys admitted to the hospital. See picture here.

Special thanks to Melissa Viramontes, Carolyn Carrier, Rebekah Price, Felishia Baggi, Jasmine Harper, and Noelle Saravolatz for representing WestStar at this event! Their efforts will bring joy to patients and guests and help brighten their holiday season.

The Magical Forest at Opportunity Village

WestStar employees joined the Southern Nevada Human Resources Association to volunteer at the Magical Forest at Opportunity Village Dec. 5. The employee response was overwhelming! We had volunteers from every department, including each of our four Las Vegas branches, totaling over 30 employees! Participants were dispersed throughout the event, spreading holiday cheer as Santa's elves, holiday bears, train station engineers, carousel and slide operators, ticket sales agents, and food and beverage servers. Thanks to all who participated in this fun-filled evening!
View some of this event's pictures here

The Magical Forest is open nightly thru Dec. 30 from 5:30 pm -10 pm. Cost of admission is $14 for adults, $12 for children age 12 and under which includes unlimited rides. Tickets may be purchased at CVS locations within the area. Click here for CVS location info.

WestStar and Help of Southern Nevada!

Annual Food Drive

We have just completed our 9th annual Help of Southern Nevada's Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive! Donation baskets were set up in each Las Vegas branch from Sept. 22 - Nov.9 for non-perishable food items and canned goods. With the help of members, employees and guests, we were able to fill over 30 giant boxes! The food will be organized and placed in donation baskets containing everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal. Baskets will be distributed to qualified individuals and families Nov. 19 - 21. To qualify, recipients must apply for this program by providing picture identification, proof of income, and proof of residency in addition to meeting the Clark County income requirements.

We would like to extend special thanks to everyone who participated and contributed to this special event!
Click here for more info on Help of Southern Nevada's community programs!

Adopt a Family 2007

WestStar adopted three families for Christmas under Help of Southern Nevada’s 2007 Adopt-A-Family program.  Gifts were purchased for all the children – 3 girls, 3 boys, and a newborn on the way – with toys spanning two table lengths for each family.  Dolls, toys, dress-up costumes, clothes, diapers, action figures, and stuffed animals were wrapped and delivered to HSN Dec. 7th.  To help raise money, WestStar raffled Super Colossal Christmas Stockings at each of their Las Vegas branches during December.  Raffle tickets were $1 each or 6 for $5, raising over $180!

Get Away Today, Help Your Community and Save Money!

WestStar is one of the many credit unions partnered with Get Away Today Vacations and the Children's Miracle Network! A portion of every vacation booked through Get Away Today is donated to the Children's Miracle Network Credit Unions for Kids program. So far in 2007, Get Away Today and their credit union partners have donated over $41,000! These funds are distributed to Children's Miracle Network affiliated hospitals for the treatment and care of thousands of children annually. The best part is, 100% of the donation remains local! Click here for Getaway Today vacations and booking info!

This year's International Credit Union Day Celebration at WestStar Credit Union began with a $500 donation to Credit Unions for Kids, a Children's Miracle Network affiliate, in support of this year's theme, "Together We're Better." In addition to our community contribution, we gave away seven $50 prepaid gas cards to our members and children joined the celebration by entering our International Credit Union Day coloring contest!

WestStar is committed to serving the Las Vegas and Reno Communities, our members, our employees, and the credit union philosophy of "people helping people." It truly was a fun day for everyone! We look forward to planning another International Credit Union Day celebration in 2008!

Click here for more on our International Credit Union Day celebration!

Other organizations that are important to WestStar:

Children's Miracle Network
National Multiple Sclerosis Society- MS Walk
Komen Race for the Cure
Make A Wish Foundation

This links are to other websites. WestStar has no responsibility for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or any other aspect of the content of such sites.