In partnership with area hospitals, First Commerce Credit Union (FCCU) spearheaded its 4^th annual #FlamingoChallenge in October, which reached a new record of more than $150,000 to benefit breast cancer patients. The fundraiser was conducted during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in partnership with the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Foundation in Tallahassee, Fla., the Archbold Medical Center Foundation in Thomasville, Ga., and the South Georgia Medical Center Foundation in Valdosta, Ga.

“It is truly an honor to again partner with local hospitals to help transform the communities we serve,” said Cecilia Homison, CEO of First Commerce Credit Union. “It is incredibly heartwarming to see our communities continue to come together to raise these much-needed funds that will have such a meaningful impact on the lives of countless breast cancer patients and their families for generations to come.”

The #FlamingoChallenge is a creative communitywide FUNdraiser created by First Commerce four years ago in 2020. Businesses, individuals, and other local organizations took part in the #FlamingoChallenge by making a pledge to donate or fundraise, claiming a flock of pink yard flamingos to display at their business or home, posting a photo, and challenging others to do the same. The funds raised have been used by the local hospitals in a variety of meaningful ways, from providing cancer screenings for low-income patients, outreach efforts to communities at high risk of developing cancer, covering expenses for items and services that health insurance does not pay for when a patient is undergoing treatment, and upgrading or adding the latest equipment. In 2023, the funds raised in Tallahassee will help underwrite the purchase of the MOZART System, state-of-the-art technology that will give surgeons greater accuracy in removing cancerous tissue during surgery, rather than having to wait for pathology results or face follow-up surgeries for clear margins.

Since its inception four years ago, the #FlamingoChallenge has raised more than $350,000 across the credit union’s field of membership in North Florida/South Georgia, with all funds being used to benefit breast cancer patients in their local communities. First Commerce was recognized for the #FlamingoChallenge with the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) 1^st place Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award, its second year in a row winning top honors, which followed the same award for FCCU’s #LocalStrong initiative in the early days of the COVID pandemic.