Teachers Credit Union of Valparaiso is collecting donations of necessities for Alice’s House until December 20

Teachers Credit Union of Valparaiso is collecting donations of necessities for Alice’s House until December 20

This holiday season, Teachers Credit Union (TCU) of Valparaiso is collecting donations for Alice’s Halfway House, a halfway house dedicated to providing educational, charitable, and social welfare activities to habilitate and rehabilitate women suffering from chemical dependency and similar disorders. The women staying at Alice’s House undergo a 24-hour, fully staffed, 12-step program to recover from their addictions.

“The women staying there are individuals who are employed just above the federal poverty level, but don’t make enough to afford many necessities,” said Stephany Leonard, service center manager at TCU of Valparaiso. “22% of households here in Porter County are ‘ALICE’ which means asset limited income-strained employed individuals, so there’s a great need.”

One of the core tenants of TCU is community involvement, with entire teams and individuals alike finding creative ways to give back. Leonard, in her case, is involved with Women United – which is how she initially learned more about the work of Alice’s House.

“I actually teach classes at RecoveryConnect through Women United, and have formed a personal bond with these women and seen what they go through every day,” she said. “That’s really what connected me with wanting to do this drive.”

At both Valparaiso TCU locations, its teams are accepting daily necessities and comforts, including items like kitchen towels, soaps and hygiene products, coffees and creamers, Amazon gift cards, bed linens, and so on.

“To us, these items are things we don’t really even think about,” Leonard said. “For the women at Alice’s house, having any of them might be a luxury.”

Leonard noted how thankful she was that TCU supports its service centers in organizing efforts like this and supports employees in taking time to support local causes.

“I’ve always wanted to give back to the community but until TCU, I’d never really worked at an employer that encouraged it so much,” she said. “They really give us free reign on who we want to support, allow us time during the workdays to support these initiatives, and truly allow us to embrace the communities in which we serve. My team especially has always been extremely giving.”

To help TCU of Valparaiso support Alice’s House, simply bring any kind of daily necessities or hobby items such as notebooks, crafts, and more to either of their Roosevelt Road or Silhavy Road service centers anytime during business hours until December 20.

To learn more about Teachers Credit Union, visit www.tcunet.com.