Decatur, Illinois, March 19th, 2021 – Land of Lincoln Credit Union (LLCU) has donated $7,000 in LLCU VISA® Gift Cards to several central Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies. The gift cards will be used, at the discretion of the patrolling officers, to spread good will throughout the community, offering them to citizens when they see a need.
LLCU started this donation program last year and law enforcement officials offered positive feedback about the good deeds that they were able to do with the gift cards throughout the communities.
“Law Enforcement officials have a front-row seat to the many needs of individuals and families in our communities,” stated LLCU President & CEO, Robert Ares. “They witness the homeless veteran, the battered wife with nowhere to turn, the hungry child on the street, the stranded motorist with no one to call. So often, these dedicated Men and Women in BLUE, reach into their OWN pockets to help those in need due to fact that no real resource exists for this type of outreach. We wanted to help with that.”
The $7,000 donated to the agencies were distributed as individual $25 VISA® Gift Cards that officers will have on hand while patrolling, to offer when they see a need. No questions asked. The following law enforcement agencies were recipients of this donation: Centralia Police Department, Decatur Police Department Effingham Police Department, Effingham County Sheriff, Vandalia Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Mattoon Police Department and Pana Police Department.
[PHOTOGRAPHED from left to right: LLCU CEO Robert Ares & Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz; LLCU Manager Justin Roley, Mattoon Police Chief Sam Gaines, Deputy Chief Ryan Hurst & LLCU Manager Heidi Schlabach; Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland & LLCU Manager Vicki Yocum; Effingham County Sheriff Dave Mahon & LLCU Manager Vicki Yocum; LLCU Employee Megan Westendorf, Vandalia Officer Robert Thompson, Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray, LLCU Manager Kristen Bowling & Vandalia Det. Jake Bowling; Pana Officer Adam Ladage, LLCU Manager Brittany Eakle, & Pana Police Chief Daniel Bland; Centralia Officer Steven Daily, LLCU Manager Makalia Atkins-Williams & Centralia Police Chief Greg Dodson]