TopLine Federal Credit Union Hosts 5th BrookLynk Summer Youth Intern

MAPLE GROVE, MINN. — September 2, 2020—TopLine Federal Credit Union, a Twin Citiesbased member-owned financial cooperative, hosted our 5th summer youth intern through BrookLynk, a youth employment program responding to community needs, a youth work-readiness training program. BrookLynk bridges the gaps between the needs of our local employers and the opportunities that our young people need to develop their pathway to college and career.

BrookLynk connects youth ages 14-21 that live or attend school in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, who face barriers to employment, with local business partners for a 6-8 week internship. All youth receive work readiness training and the program offers youth ages 16 and older the opportunity to learn essential job skills, gain valuable work experience, develop a professional social network to help develop pathways to college and career and prepare for tomorrow’s skilled workforce.

TopLine’s BrookLynk intern graduated this past year from Champlin Park Senior High School and will be attending Augsburg College in the fall. During the 8-week internship, she assisted in multiple departments, including Marketing and Communications, Loan Servicing, Mortgage Services and Business Services. The intern also worked on a capstone project, which focused on how to better prepare young adults for their financial futures by learning about the basics of personal finance and how to best select a financial institution partner. A virtual achievement celebration at the program’s end was held to recognize the interns and supervisors.

Each week of the TopLine internship focused on honing professional skills —including professional attitude, time management, team work ethics, problem solving, verbal communication, with Friday check-ins to share experiences with their peers. The intern also attended the annual Young Adult Summit, which brought together young leaders from across the metro to discuss change. TopLine also included the opportunity for the intern to participate in a community volunteer giveback event – to provide a glimpse of the importance of volunteering and supporting our communities.

“We are so fortunate to participate for the 5th year in a row in the BrookLynk summer intern program to support personal and professional growth for our next generation of leaders,” said Vicki Roscoe Erickson, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, TopLine Federal Credit Union. “2020 has been a unique year, a lot has changed for all of us personally and professionally, though TopLine’s commitment to support our communities and provide young adults with the opportunity to learn and grow remains unchanged. We are honored to help inspire and prepare young adults on their next journey of post-secondary education and career exploration, along with providing basic financial knowledge. We were sad to say goodbye to our intern, however happy to note that we hired her to be a Mortgage Assistant.”

BrookLynk launched the program in 2015, and has successfully increased participation in the program each year. Since inception, over 900 young people have been trained with essential job skills and over 300 completed summer internships.

“BrookLynk has become a household name for youth in Brooklyn Park & Brooklyn Center. Known for equipping youth with work readiness skills and on the job experiences, BrookLynk sets youth up for success to land their next job and launch them into their college and career pathway,” said Catrice O’Neal, BrookLynk Program Manager.

“BrookLynk gives participants a platform to network with professionals and gain valuable work experiences, as seen with TopLine and Sumei,” said Paul Vang, BrookLynk Program Coordinator.

BrookLynk and its business partners are committed to building pathways to college and careers. Their mission is to coordinate partnerships that prepare employers to engage the next generation of workers and to connect young people in the Brooklyns facing barriers to employment with the skills, experience, and professional social networks needed to develop their pathway to college and career. For more information, visit https://www.brooklynk.works or https://www.facebook.com/BrookLynkWorks.

TopLine Federal Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesota’s 13th largest, with assets of more than $525 million and serves nearly 46,000 members. Established in 1935, the not-for-profit cooperative offers a complete line of financial services, as well as auto and home insurance, from its five branch locations — in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth and in St. Paul’s Como Park — as well as by phone, mobile app and online at www.TopLinecu.com. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington Counties and their immediate family members. To learn more about TopLine’s Youth Financial Literacy sessions, visit https://www.toplinecu.com/financial-education/youth-financial-literacy. Visit us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TopLineFederalCreditUnion.