This month's Guest Blogger is Laurie Baker, President and CEO of The Summit Federal Credit Union. Laurie is an active volunteer in the Rochester community as well as for numerous credit union industry groups. Laurie volunteered on the Mary Cariola Center’s Advancement Committee for several years starting in 2016, joined the Board of Directors in 2018, and is now on the Finance Committee as well.
Laurie Baker
As a not-for-profit cooperative, The Summit’s goal is to help people gain access to the financial products and services that make their lives better. But we also believe that to truly improve people’s lives, we need to be a part of the community and work to strengthen it from within.
In 2016, Karen Zandi gave me a tour of the Mary Cariola Center here in Rochester. She showed me what an important role the Center plays in caring for and educating young people with complex disabilities, and she explained how the Center extends into various areas around the city and suburbs with its multiple campuses and residences. It was easy to see why she had such passion for the Center, and easy for me to find that the mission of the Center lined up perfectly with my own passion for helping children.
Through my volunteering efforts, I’ve witnessed firsthand how organizations that are dedicated to the health and development of young people can have a profound impact on the community as a whole. When kind, talented people immerse themselves into others’ wellbeing—helping them learn, feel valuable and reach for their potential—many more than the individuals being aided are affected; the whole community is lifted up, one person at a time.
2020 has certainly driven home the importance of being flexible when you’re providing solutions for people’s needs. Planning for changes in the world, even if we don’t know entirely what those are, is one of the ways The Summit has remained strong for our members. We’ve been able to create new products and enhance our practices to better serve members and to guide them through whatever challenges they might be facing.
The Mary Cariola Center has a similar ability to look to the future, to constantly update and incorporate new ways to help individuals live fully and happily—and to set them up for greater future success. The people at the helm of the Center are passionate about creating opportunities for the people they serve, using new methods and technologies, and even devising their own based on what they’ve seen works.
I am grateful that The Summit is able to include the Center as one of the many worthy organizations to whom we lend a hand. The Center is a great fit with The Summit’s mission to make a difference for people in our communities, and so we are happy to support the Center--and events such as Walking on Sunshine--that bring joy to so many and that help the Center improve the lives of countless individuals.
