February is Black History Month, and this year marks 100 years of national Black History commemorations. Black History Month originally started as only a week-long celebration in February of 1926, but it was expanded to be a monthlong celebration at the 50th anniversary in 1976.

The purpose of this annual recognition is to honor the often-neglected accomplishments of Black Americans throughout our history. While Black Americans have contributed substantially to our progress as a society, it is also important to celebrate the personal accomplishments of Black Americans. People don’t have to be written in our history books to be considered valued and important members of our families, neighborhoods, and communities.

In this blog post, we will be sharing stories from our members and borrowers over the years who have worked hard to break down barriers and achieve their financial goals. We are honored to consider them part of the Self-Help family.

Nana’s Growing Construction Business

^{Nana (left) with his associate, Anthony (right), at a job site}

Nana’s business, Skyrock Construction, specializes in all types of concrete construction—foundations, curbs, sidewalks—you name it. He started his company in Raleigh, NC, in 2006 at the cusp of an economic recession.

When he came to Self-Help in 2008, Skyrock qualified for a small business microloan. Since then, Nana has built Skyrock Construction into a multi-million dollar business. Throughout Skyrock’s growth, Self-Help has been a lending partner. To date, we have provided several loans of increasing amounts as the company has grown.

Some of Raleigh’s large, well-established construction companies have come to rely on Skyrock’s quality work, and the company’s projects have included libraries, banks, and hotels. We are honored to be part of Nana’s journey and are excited for Skyrock’s continued growth and success.

Bettie’s Journey Home

^{Bettie (right) with her son, Alexis (left)}

Bettie bought her first home at age 76, with a 2018 loan from Self-Help CU. The retired hospital worker and mother of two had been looking for a fixer-upper in a desirable neighborhood and opted to purchase a foreclosed property owned by Self-Help.

“We were already engaging with Self-Help Credit Union on the mortgage,” says son Alexis, who assisted his mother throughout the home buying process. “Then we found out that the house we wanted was owned by Self-Help, too! It was a very fortunate coincidence.”

For Bettie, a renter all her life, the experience was almost unbelievable. “Once I signed the papers, we left the closing and went out to eat. That’s when it hit me. I couldn’t believe it. It was almost unreal.”

We are so glad to have been able to offer support in making Bettie’s homeownership dreams a reality!

Andre’s Climbing Credit

Andre (pictured) started a career in real estate via a sponsorship from the Wisconsin Realtors Association’s (WRA) Partnership for Success Program. Things were going well until he encountered significant losses in real estate and other investments when the pandemic hit. Bills piled up, and his credit suffered, which became his largest obstacle.

Andre was attending the “State of Black Illinois Conference 2020” when he was introduced to Self-Help. He opened an account at one of our branches and took out a Fresh Start Loan (a loan meant to help build credit) and a Secured Credit Card. In less than one year, he improved his credit score by nearly 250 points!

Andre says, “I see a lot of people that need this product, that don’t understand how much they need it. I want to be the first to share this gem with them. It can single-handedly change your life!” Andre continued his financial journey with a personal signature loan with Self-Help, and we’re glad to witness his ongoing success.

Toiya’s Thriving Education Business

^{Toiya (left) with one of her students (right)}

Toiya is the owner of Kumon of Greensboro-Northwest, which offers a year-round reading and math curriculum for students of all ages and academic levels. Toiya recognizes that each of her students is unique. “I tell families that this program is for all students of all ages and abilities," said Toiya.

Self-Help is honored to have been Toiya’s lending partner from the beginning. In 2008, when Toiya was planning to open her business, she came to us for a small business loan. Fast forward to 2020: The pandemic struck, and nearly all small businesses were hurt, including Toiya’s, so Toiya called Self-Help again.

We had the perfect loan for her situation – our Pivot Loan, a COVID recovery loan for small businesses. With the new loan, Toiya was able to catch up on the rent for her business and handle ongoing expenses. Today, we’re so glad that her business is continuing to grow and thrive.

Ronald's Road to Repairs

^{Stacey (left) with her husband, Travis (right)}

When Ronald learned that his home needed some costly major repairs, he came to Self-Help to find out how he could obtain financing. As a veteran and retired accountant on a fixed income, Ronald felt it would be difficult to come up with cash for his home’s repairs. He worked with Self-Help’s mortgage team to explore the available options and decided to refinance his home.

Leola’s Debt Cycle Disruption

^{Leola (right) with our Atlanta director, Mandy (left)}

Leola was on a fixed social security income and doing her best to help support her son, who was in a nursing home with Guillain-Barré syndrome. To help with expenses, she took out two personal loans from predatory lenders that were charging interest rates of 490% and 100% (!). These lenders kept Leola in a cycle of debt until payments became unmanageable.

Leola came into our Atlanta branch the day we opened and was one of the first members to join. It was her first time joining a credit union and opening a savings account. Upon hearing about Leola's payments, Mandy, the director of business development and community engagement in Atlanta, worked with our legal team to get Leola out of her loans and complete a refinance.

Leola was so happy to find out she would be saving almost $295 a month! Now, she can do more to help support her son and even start putting money into her new savings account. We are glad to be able to find ways to support people like Leola, who have been impacted by predatory loans.

Happy Black History Month!

Thank you to Nana, Bettie, Andre, Toiya, Stacey, and Leola for sharing their stories with us. This month, we are celebrating you and the rest of our Black members and borrowers who have accomplished goals, taken steps to reduce debt, opened businesses, and achieved ownership. We are grateful to have you as part of the Self-Help family.