RIA Credit Union launches ‘90 Acts of Kindness’

A group of RIA Federal Credit Union workers were busy creating acts of kindness late Tuesday, April 22, by painting rocks. They were creating “positivity rocks” by painting inspiring messages, symbols and art on a table full of rocks placed in a basement meeting room at the RIA Federal Credit Union, 4343 Utica Ridge Road, […]

A group of RIA Federal Credit Union workers were busy creating acts of kindness late Tuesday, April 22, by painting rocks. They were creating “positivity rocks” by painting inspiring messages, symbols and art on a table full of rocks placed in a basement meeting room at the RIA Federal Credit Union, 4343 Utica Ridge Road, Bettendorf. 

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In the coming week, hundreds of rocks will be painted and placed in public places around the Quad Cities for people to find. The goals are to bring joy, comfort, hope and positive messages to people in the community.  “Hopefully, it will also bring some smiles to faces when they see the rocks,” said Heather Holt of Moline, one of the RIA employees painting rocks on Tuesday. The “positivity rocks” is one of the many activities credit union workers have been doing in recent days as part of RIA Federal Credit Union’s 90th birthday celebration. It is centered on a campaign of giving back to the community called “90 Acts of Kindness.” That series of altruistic acts includes partnering with charities, donating time and energy to community groups, and taking part in positive activities to help people. In addition to creating works of art on rocks, the credit union employees have donated food to the River Bend Food Bank, and raised money and awareness for the Quad City Veterans Outreach Center. They will also help raise money for the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities during a May 16 golf outing, and hold a free homebuying and selling workshop on Wednesday, April 30.

A partner to the community

“We truly believe in being a partner to the community, that’s where it all starts,” said Steve Ducey, chief experience officer, RIA Federal Credit Union, in a news release. “The notion of giving back to the community and partnering for acts of kindness is nothing new, but we want to highlight the partners we’ve had in the community as we celebrate 90 years of being a part of it.” During a recent interview with the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal, Mr. Ducey said he came up with the idea of 90 acts of kindness when credit union staff were discussing events to hold around the 90th anniversary year of the business. Instead of hosting a community celebration or company party, he decided to start a campaign to help people in and around the Quad Cities. The events in that campaign, which started last month, will be a variety of big and small activities that are meant to brighten the lives of people. One of his favorites was a recent letter-writing event in which credit union workers wrote notes to area residents in local care facilities. “People don’t always get visitors. … To me, that is absolutely wonderful,” he said. RIA partners with dozens of schools, nursing homes, and other local organizations on a regular basis to help realize the potential of at-risk youth. Also, it helps the YWCA by contributing to its after-school programs and free lunches for children; and a number of veterans organizations, including the Honor Flight. Last year alone, the credit union’s golf outing raised over $40,000 for local veterans’ groups.

Get kindness updates

“Some of our biggest and longest-standing partnerships are with veterans’ organizations, like the Honor Flight,” Mr. Ducey said. “We have a strong belief in helping the people who served this great country, and it’s an honor to do so.” To see updates on “90 Acts of Kindness” events go to the RIA Credit Union Facebook page. During Tuesday’s rock-painting event, Tisha Johnson, a credit union employee and one of the painters, said she believes the rocks will be distributed around the first week of May. In addition to showing colorful works of art and phrases, each rock will also likely have a sticker that states the purpose of the rock project and the goals of the credit union’s 90 Acts of Kindness campaign. Some of the places people might find those rocks include area parks, outside of grocery stores and other businesses, outside of RIA Credit Union branches and just about anywhere else people gather, Ms. Johnson said. At least three of those colorful rocks will come from Ms. Holt, a 10-year employee of the credit union and a mortgage closing specialist. On Tuesday, she was in the midst of creating three rock paintings – a ladybug, a garden snail and a version of the credit union logo with “90” on it. Ms. Holt said she enjoyed being in a creative environment with her fellow co-workers, and creating artwork that will bring joy to people. “It’s nice to put a little good out there,” she added. RIA Credit Union opened nine decades ago as the credit union for police and firefighters of the Rock Island Arsenal. A year later, it expanded to service all Arsenal employees. Since then, RIA has grown to serve people throughout the Quad-Cities, the Midwest, and worldwide. The RIA Federal Credit Union has 11 branch sites, and about 135 employees.