BELLINGHAM (June 22, 2022) — WECU and the Bellingham School District announced today a new community partnership in which the school district will host its Community Transitions Program (CT) from the credit union’s current Birchwood Branch, located at 1600 Birchwood Avenue.

The CT Program serves students who receive special education services in the Bellingham School District through the age of 21. The program seeks to successfully transition students to more independent living, employment and/or post-secondary training. Currently, the CT Program is housed at Bellingham High School, though participants frequently shuffle between multiple sites for various services.

The new location is near public transportation and equipped with adequate space for the needs of the program. Bellingham School District anticipates having CT start the 2022-23 school year in its current location at BHS, then move into the new space after renovations are complete. While this partnership solves immediate needs for the program, plans are in the works to purchase land and build a permanent site for the CT Program in the future.

“At WECU, we are continuously seeking new strategic partnerships with other local organizations that prioritize the health and well-being of our community members, such as the Bellingham School District. We are excited that their Community Transitions Program will occupy our newly renovated WECU Community Resource Center at our Birchwood Branch location,” said Jennifer Kutcher, President & CEO at WECU. “The building will provide the school district and their students with a much-needed solution for their very important work.”

“This is great news for students receiving services in Community Transitions and our staff. We really admire WECU’s good intentions for using a building to help others, and they have always been a generous community partner,” said Dr. Greg Baker, Superintendent of Bellingham Public Schools.

WECU will retain ownership of the building and credit union members will continue to have access to a full-service deposit-taking ATM at this location.

About WECU
WECU is a credit union based in Bellingham, Washington. Founded in 1936 as Bellingham Teachers Credit Union, WECU serves individuals and businesses located throughout the state of Washington. With more than $2.5 billion in assets, WECU serves approximately 144,000 members and employs nearly 400 people.

Media Contact:
Keith Mader, Program Manager PR & Content at WECU, 360-756-7694, keith.mader@wecu.com