Redwood Credit Union Helps Protect More than 2,700 People by Securely Shredding Documents

Santa Rosa, Calif – This summer, more than 2,700 residents in Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties took action to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by bringing old financial records and other paperwork to Redwood Credit Union’s free shred-a-thons.

Shred-It trucks were onsite at each event to help communities safely dispose of and recycle 100,080 lbs. of documents. And Conservation Corps of the North Bay collected more than 24,300 lbs. of e-waste, including old TVs, printers, monitors, computers, and other personal electronics for secure recycling. To put that in perspective, the environmental impact of the shredded paper alone is:

• 12,636 trees = 315 acres (almost half of Armstrong Woods!)

• 206,600 gallons of water = watering 330 lawns for 1 week

“There was an air of excitement as staff and community members came together to dispose of documents and e-waste that, in the wrong hands, could be used fraudulently,” said Matt Martin, senior vice president of community and government relations at RCU. “Identity theft is a real risk these days, and RCU wants to help mitigate it in every way possible and provide an environmentally friendly solution for disposing of old electronics and sensitive documents.”

At each shred-a-thon location, attendees had an opportunity to donate to a local nonprofit. In total, the events raised more than $7,700 to support Lake County Child Care Planning Council, SchoolsRule Marin, Plowshares in Mendocino, Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center in Napa, and Redwood Empire Food Bank in Sonoma.

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $7 billion in assets and serves 415,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for news and updates.