News & Events

FCCU recently held fundraisers for our 2023 third quarter charity, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Each quarter FCCU employees choose different causes to support through raising money and awareness. The third quarter main focus was mental health and suicide prevention awareness, raising $4,500.

FCCU chose to use these funds to sponsor AFSP’s Out of the Darkness Walks in Bismarck, Fargo, Devils Lake, Wahpeton and Valley City. Many of our staff volunteered to help with the walks and participated on our teams. FCCU also donated $500 to the Stutsman County Motorcycle Ride to Silence the Stigma.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to destigmatize mental health and bring awareness to suicide. The majority of funds raised by the organization are used to support education programs, training, and support state advocacy programs and events.

“The topic of suicide can be very hard and personal for some,” said Susan Long Swen, Event & Community Engagement Specialist for FCCU. She continues, “Unfortunately nearly everyone has been impacted by suicide, whether directly or indirectly. Our employees chose this cause because it’s one that we feel is important and we want to help make a difference in those lives that have been impacted or could be in the future.”

Fundraising activities over the quarter included Coffee for a Cause Fundraiser with Dakota Dirt Coffee, Change the Stigma loose change collection, Casual for a Cause Day, Jeans Fridays and furniture and art auction donations from our administration building. FCCU also raised awareness through our social media pages, internally providing staff with resources for mental health and hosting an episode of our podcast speaking with the Executive Director of the AFSP ND and SD Chapters. Listen to the podcast here.

Thank you to our generous members and employees who worked hard to make this third quarter charity a success.