Tarrant County’s CU donates crockpots to veterans at Liberty House

Tarrant County’s Credit Union (TCCU) staff in Fort Worth delivered new crockpots to veterans living at Liberty House on July 3. 

Melissa Burleson, Development Educator (DE) and TCCU’s business development coordinator, envisioned a community service project that would benefit local veterans and address the development issue of hunger. Out of that vision, Crockpots for Veterans became a reality. 

With the support of TCCU President/CEO Lily Newfarmer, Burleson worked to find a suitable partner within the community. Through a connection with United Way of Tarrant County, she was put in touch with Joseph Vincelli, executive director of The Artist Outreach, Inc., and Vernon Lewis, program manager of Liberty House of Fort Worth. Liberty House provides housing and support services for veterans with a focus on recovery from disabilities, along with employment training and family reintegration. 

Vincelli and Burleson met by phone in late May and began discussing the Crockpots for Veterans service project. He shared that The Artist Outreach had recently started a culinary project as part of the training curriculum available to residents at Liberty House. Together, Burleson, Vincelli, and Lewis decided that the crockpots would be issued to those participants who complete the culinary course, and the chef would build classes around crockpot meals until the supply of crockpots were depleted.

During the month of June, crockpots and monetary donations were collected for the service project. At TCCU’s June staff meeting, employees prepared and packaged dry soup mixes and included recipe cards, so the recipients would have a ready-to-cook meal plus a recipe for future meals. 

Vincelli said, “This was a fabulous way to celebrate Independence week and support our veterans, especially those in financial need!” 

Through these partnerships and the generosity of TCCU members and staff, $2,000 worth of new crockpots and packaged dry soup mixes were donated to help support at-risk community members. 

For more information about how TCCU gives back, or if you would be interested in working with TCCU on a project, contact Melissa Burleson at [email protected] or 817-884-1470, ext. 136.

About Tarrant County’s Credit Union
TCCU is a $90 million credit union serving over 11,000 members throughout Tarrant County, Texas. TCCU operates four branches located in Fort Worth, Hurst, Lake Worth, and Arlington.