Suncoast Credit Union Scholarship Grant

SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION PROVIDES $4000 TO

HERITAGE ARTS CENTER ASSOCIATION

(Dade City, FL) Heritage Arts Center Association announces a charitable gift of $4000.00 from the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. The funds will be used to reward 4 Pasco County high school seniors with $1000.00 each for the following scholarships: 2 students will receive $1000.00 for the Nereim Fine Arts Award and 2 students will receive $1000.00 for the Pasco Heritage Scholarship Award. The scholarships will be given in March.

Through our 41 years, Heritage Arts Center Association has worked very hard as a volunteer, non-profit organization, to benefit the visual and performing arts in the area. We work within our limitations as volunteers, and as a non-profit. Several years ago, we made a commitment to increase our 2 scholarship awards in both visual and performing arts for young people. We wanted to know that our awards would significantly help talented young people and their families to be able to further the development of their gifts beyond high school, with a career in mind.  The Spotlight competition offers great experience to talented students, but also has a huge cost to produce. It involves renting a large theater for 2 days, paying 15 professional judges to evaluate and give feedback to the students, and offering smaller but decent awards to younger competitors in their age categories. For the last few years, even with wonderful local sponsors, we have not been able to meet the production costs. We slightly increased application fees and ticket prices (which we hated to do) and were worried about the future of continuing to produce the contest and giving the scholarships.

“We are so very excited that because of this generous grant, our sponsor and fee income will be able to pay for the production costs. The grant will cover the scholarships! In addition, it will be a thrill to be able to impact FOUR gifted young people with $1000.00 scholarships this year, instead of our usual two,” said Barbara Friedman, Vice-President of Performing Arts, Heritage Arts Center Association. “Thank you so very much.”

Suncoast Credit Union, Florida’s largest credit union, founded the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation to promote the education, health and emotional well-being of children in the community. Each time a Suncoast member uses their debit or credit card, the credit union donates two cents to the Foundation to fund local initiatives. Since its inception in 1990, the Foundation has raised and donated over $45 million.

“At Suncoast Credit Union, we believe in the transformative power of creativity and the arts to shape the leaders of tomorrow,” said Bob Hyde, Vice President of Community Impact, Suncoast Credit Union. “By supporting the Heritage Arts Center Association and investing in the future of Pasco County’s youth, we are fostering an environment where creativity can thrive.”

About the Heritage Arts Center Association

Founded in 1983, the Heritage Arts Center Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging the performing and visual arts that enhance the cultural environment of our community. Our purpose is to encourage the youth of our community who wish to study in the visual and performing arts fields. We achieve this goal by producing the annual “Spotlight on Talent “competition which involves over 200 young students who attend schools from all over Pasco County. This competition offers these students opportunities to prepare and perform art pieces on stage in front of professional judges and a large community audience. They are rewarded generously for their efforts, and they also get the benefits of comments and suggestions from these accomplished judges. Additionally, because of the generosity of Suncoast Credit Union, we will be able to reward 4 students with our scholarships rather than the 2 historical scholarships we have offered in the past.

About Suncoast Credit Union

Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state of Florida, the 8th largest in the United States based on membership, and the 10th largest in the United States based on its $18.6 billion in assets. Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 80 full-service branches and serves more than 1.2 million members across Florida. As a community credit union, anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Suncoast Credit Union’s service area is eligible for membership. In 2021, Suncoast Credit Union’s field of membership was expanded to include public K-12 teachers, college educators, and educational support staff from all of Florida’s 67 counties. Suncoast is passionate about community support. Since its founding in 1990, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation has raised and donated more than $45 million to organizations and initiatives that support the health, education, and emotional well-being of children in the communities that the credit union serves. For more information, visit suncoast.com or follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.