First Harvest Credit Union Celebrates 84 Years of Service 

Information and image provided by First Harvest Credit Union

 First Harvest Credit Union (“First Harvest”) is celebrating its 84th anniversary and decades of strong financial roots in the Southern New Jersey region this month. First Harvest is also featuring Anniversary Rate Specials on select certificate products for its members, and recently hosted a Summer Carnival to celebrate its associates for their ongoing commitment to the South Jersey community.

Anniversary Rate Specials 

First Harvest was founded on June, 20, 1940. To celebrate its anniversary and tie-in its early roots, First Harvest is offering Anniversary Rate Specials on the 6, 20, and 40-Month Certificates & IRAs this month. For full details, visit FirstHarvestCU.com/CertificateSpecials. 

Summer Carnival 

This month, First Harvest’s Corporate Headquarters hosted its Summer Carnival for its departments and branch teams to engage with one another. Associates spent an afternoon cultivating an inclusive team environment through team building exercises and activities. Events like this allow the entire First Harvest team to reconnect, and help to strengthen the credit union’s mission and culture. 

Our History 

First Harvest was founded over 84 years ago by a group of workers at a Camden shipyard. While manufacturing vessels to serve in World War II, this small gathering of employees pooled their funds together to plant the seeds for what is known today as First Harvest Credit Union. First Harvest’s beginnings were emblematic of the credit union spirit that remains a guiding principle: the concept of local South Jersey residents and workers helping one another in the cooperative spirit of creating affordable financial accessibility. 

Now, over 80 years later, several things have changed including the credit union name, technology, and the expansion of branch locations and membership growth. First Harvest now has locations across five South Jersey counties, and employs over 160 individuals who serve over 46,000 members and 700 Sponsored Employee Groups throughout the region. Today, many of Southern New Jersey’s largest government entities, hospitals, universities, colleges, and hundreds of local municipalities and school districts are First Harvest Sponsored Employee Groups. 

Through 84 years of hard work, First Harvest has cultivated an institution in which much of the funding philosophy remains very much in place. The credit union has remained in Camden since its early beginnings, providing affordable financial solutions to its residents and businesses. Today, it is the largest member-owned, not-for-profit credit union serving Southern New Jersey, and the second-largest credit union in the state by membership.

“While we always look ahead to identify new and innovative ways to serve our membership, it’s important for us to recognize the cooperative spirit that is in our credit union’s DNA,” stated First Harvest President & CEO, Mike Dinneen. “As we observe our credit union’s anniversary, we at First Harvest are eternally cognizant that credit unions are built on trust, integrity, and the inherent goodness of the employees and members who are part of our institution’s family.”