Alltru Credit Union Recognizes Creative Works with Juneteenth Heritage Award

T. LOUIS, MO (June 21, 2022) – Alltru is proud to honor youth in the Greater St. Louis community and the ways they continue to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday with their first ever Juneteenth Heritage Award. Individuals between the ages of 5 and 25 were invited to illustrate the what Juneteenth means to them by sharing their own expression of creativity.

Participants submitted a creative or artistic work that answered the question, ‘How do you celebrate your Juneteenth heritage?’, in the form of spoken word, written expression, dance, film, or visual artwork. A panel of judges helped celebrate three exceptional entries by distributing $1,750 in awards.

PHOTO - Alltru Juneteenth Heritage Awardee, Camori J., being honored at Mayor Tishaura’s office. Pictured from left to right: Tracy Verner, Alltru Community Development Manager, City of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, City of St. Louis Treasurer Adam Layne, and Alltru Financial Empowerment Coordinators Stephanie Hughes and Ken Paige.

The 2022 Juneteenth Heritage Awardees are:

Camori J. (10) is the recipient of $250 and the Heritage Award for entries in the 5-11 age group.

Zakiya G. (18) is the recipient of $1,000 and the Heritage Award for entries in the 12-25 age group.

Kamiyah J. (13) is the recipient of $500 and the Heritage Award for being the most moving and creative piece.

The Alltru Credit Union Community Development Team and two volunteer members of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Advisory Board determined the award recipients based on the scoring scale –

• 60% – Ability to convey a sincere celebration of Juneteenth Heritage. Ability to demonstrate a personal understanding of the Juneteenth history

• 20% – Execution/Aptitude

• 20% – Creativity/Originality

The panel of reviewers scored each piece according to the scoring criteria and averaged the combined scores for the total points to determine the awardees.

Kamiyah scored the highest overall by one point in the Creativity category, and Zakiya scored higher in the more heavily weighted Juneteenth history category.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones welcomed the awardees in her office at City Hall on Friday, June 17th, 2022 where Alltru presented certificates to Camori, Zakiya, and Kamiyah for their exceptional creative works.

“We’ve always held a special spot in our hearts for our youth so we wanted to expand Alltru’s Juneteenth Holiday activities to celebrate them. Since 2014, when Alltru expanded access to financial capabilities to youth ages 5-25, we’ve been honored to witness their creativity and we couldn’t wait to view their submissions. One of the awardees, Zakiya, said that the award and meeting the Mayor was the most perfect way for her to celebrate Juneteenth,” stated Tracy Verner, Community Development Manager at Alltru Credit Union.

Alltru is honored to share the inspiration, legacy, and vision by featuring the many creative works on social media platforms throughout the month of June. To view all of the Juneteenth Heritage Award submissions, visit Alltru’s Facebook page.

About Alltru Credit Union

Established in 1968, Alltru Credit Union is full-service Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) whose mission is to improve the financial well-being of its members. With 37,000 members and over $300 million in assets, Alltru has provided members with a full line of dependable financial products and services for over 54 years. For more information about Alltru Credit Union, visit www.thebetterwaytobank.org.

Not a credit union member?  Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, or worships within St. Charles County, St. Louis County, or the City of St. Louis.