By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Golden 1 Credit Union celebrated the grand opening Tuesday of its first financial resource center in Del Paso Heights.
The center will serve as a resource for residents’ personal financial empowerment, providing education, products, and services unique to their needs.
It also provides free financial education workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions with a goal of supporting members on their path to financial well-being and uplifting the community.
Dwayne Crenshaw, president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Urban League, said Del Paso Heights is proud of the partnership with and commitment by Golden 1.
“Oftentimes in the nonprofit and the for-profit communities folks drop a few dollars here and say ‘That’s all.’ It is very rare that someone will actually move into the community with them, to partner with them and improve a community,” Crenshaw said at the grand opening.
Crenshaw said that a few months ago, Golden 1 held a hiring fair and hired people from Del Paso Heights. “That is real partnership, that is real philanthropy, that is real commitment and that is real community change,” he said.
The center’s opening is just the beginning of the revitalization of Del Paso Heights, Crenshaw said.
Donna Bland, president and CEO of Golden 1, said the center is the first of its kind in California and represents a significant milestone for Golden 1.
“The opening of this location is a golden example of our continued dedication to Californians and the Del Paso Heights community,” Bland said. “We are passionate about providing easy access to financial solutions, resources and support that our members and communities so desperately need to improve their well-being.”
Last year, Golden 1 committed $10 million to Del Paso Heights, a historically African American neighborhood just north of downtown Sacramento. It once was an area where families thrived, but the effects of economic isolation, drug addiction, and crime that began in the 1970s remain felt today.
Jaime Hayden with Golden 1 said the entire $10 million has not been fully allocated yet.
At least one million dollars, distributed over five years, has been committed to the anchor Del Paso Heights partner organizations. The Urban League to support economic development, Mutual Assistance Network to support financial education and coaching support for youth and adults; Neighborhood Wellness Foundation to support targeted physical and mental health support to Grant Union High School students; and Roberts Family Development Center to support education, mentoring, and various wraparound care for youth, young adults, and families.
Approximately half of the funds have been distributed to these organizations, and Golden 1 is working in partnership with the community to best distribute the remainder, according to Hayden.
“Additionally, the opening of our new Financial Resource Center was an independent investment outside of our overall $10 million commitment to Del Paso Heights,” Hayden said in an email.
“Our investments continue to support key community organizations and projects that uplift this neighborhood,” Bland said.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that for too many years, people and businesses have paid lip service to the idea that Del Paso Heights matters and that community leaders have asked in the past for financial institutions.
“Every time they got a polite ‘no’ until Golden 1 came along – until the Golden 1 said that serving a community is more than just services, it’s economic empowerment,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg expressed gratitude to Golden 1, the Urban League and all the other North Sacramento partners in investing in a part of town that not only needs it, but deserves it.
“I want to see people own homes. I want to see people start businesses. I want to see more people thriving in North Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “We talk a lot about the growth of our city … but I said it from the moment I became mayor: inclusive economic development means that if we are serious about growing a modern, cosmopolitan city that it must be for everyone.”The new Golden 1 financial center is located at 3725 Marysville Blvd., suite 1.