Woodbury, MN. April 25, 2025 – Ideal Credit Union is proud to announce a 92% year-over-year increase in funds raised during its 2025 Chain of Hearts campaign, benefiting Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare through the Credit Unions for Kids initiative. The campaign ran from January 14 to February 28, uniting employees, members, and local communities in support of children with complex medical needs.
Chain of Hearts is organized by Minnesota Credit Unions for Kids (MnCU4Kids), a sub-committee of the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation. This grassroots initiative supports Gillette Children’s, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital based in St. Paul that serves children across Minnesota and beyond. Since 1996, MnCU4Kids has raised over $3 million to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals with specialized care for kids with brain, bone, and movement conditions.
During the campaign, Ideal Credit Union members and staff purchased paper hearts and links, which were displayed in branch lobbies to represent each contribution and demonstrate the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.” The campaign sparked strong engagement among Ideal’s branch teams, each rallying their communities toward a shared goal — with one standout team contributing over half of the total funds raised.
Credit Unions for Kids is a national nonprofit collaboration of credit unions and business partners dedicated to supporting 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. It is the third largest sponsor of CMN Hospitals, with 100% of locally raised funds staying in the community to support care for local children.
Ideal Credit Union extends its sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this year’s campaign and looks forward to continuing to support Gillette Children’s through future fundraising efforts.
About Ideal Credit Union
Founded in 1926, Ideal Credit Union is a member-owned financial institution that is dedicated to providing financial services driven by a sincere and personal interest in the needs of our employees, members, and community. Ideal CU offers a complete range of services, including a full suite of digital banking products, savings, checking, loans, mortgage products, business services and more.
Offices are located in Eagan, Hugo, Inver Grove Heights, North St. Paul, Stillwater and Woodbury. Visit idealcu.com for details and directions. Ideal was voted “2023 and 2024 Best in State Credit Union” by Forbes, 2023 Minneapolis – St. Paul Business Journal “Best Place to Work,” “Best Credit Union” for five years in a row by readers of the Stillwater Gazette, and was the Readers’ Choice 2024 Best of the Press Hugo Citizen winner in the categories of “Best Workplace,” “Best Bank/Financial,” “Best Mortgage Company,” and “Best Customer Service for a Local Business.”