Ent Credit Union Awards $200K to Savers During Pandemic

Member Gets Cancer-Free Notification, Wins $50K Ahead of the Holidays

Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dec. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When Ent Credit Union launched its “Save A Little, Win A Lot” program at the beginning of 2020, the goal was to help reinforce good saving habits among its members. Little did the credit union, and the participants, know the challenges that would lie ahead for the majority of 2020 as the topic of saving took on new importance during a period of record unemployment and pandemic-driven economic adversity.

Each month, 10 qualifying members were randomly selected to receive a $500 cash prize. Each quarter, five qualifying members received a $1,000 cash prize, and, at the conclusion of the program, four grand prizes would be awarded. One qualifying member would receive a $50,000 cash prize while three runner-up prizes of $25,000 would be awarded.

This week, Ent selected and notified the grand prize winners of its “Save A Little, Win A Lot” program:

• $50,000 winner – Dawn Schuerkamp – Goodyear, AZ

• $25,000 winner – Patricia Mascarenas – Pueblo

• $25,000 winner – Chelsea Lawson – Colorado Springs

• $25,000 winner – Jesse Terpstra – Colorado Springs

For grand prize winner Schuerkamp, winning $50,000 near the end of a very tough year had even more significance. “My husband has had cancer since February of this year and hasn’t worked since his diagnosis. He’s been through hell and back with several rounds of chemotherapy but he just got his scans back and, as of this month, he is cancer-free,” Schuerkamp exclaimed on a surprise video call with Ent leadership. “I’m so excited I won – winning this money takes a huge burden off us.” Though she now lives in Arizona, Schuerkamp and her husband have continued to be Ent members for more than 30 years.

Mascarenas indicated that paying bills would be the primary use of her winnings while Lawson was looking forward to using her prize money on a special trip to Europe, taking her recently departed mother’s ashes along with her. Terpstra indicated that paying for home improvements was on the docket for he and his wife, though he then added, “Don’t tell my wife but I’m pretty sure we’re getting a hot tub.”

Overall, 134 members shared in the $200,000 prize money, while 127 Ent team members won Paid Time Off (PTO), or a share of more than $20,000 in cash in a separate “Save A Little, Win A Lot” program that ran concurrently for employees.

How members qualified for Ent’s “Save A Little, Win A Lot” program:

• They earned an entry for every $25 they saved, up to a maximum of five entries per month

• Once they saved $1,000, they earned five bonus entries for that month

• Monthly entries counted toward monthly, quarterly, runner-up and grand prizes

About Ent

Founded in 1957, for the third consecutive year Ent is ranked Colorado’s #1 credit union by Forbes. Ent, a not-for-profit financial, community-chartered credit union is committed to improving members’ financial quality of life with better rates, lower fees and unparalleled products and services. With $7+ billion in assets, Ent serves more than 400,000 members at 43 convenient service centers across the Front Range. Ent is an Equal Housing Opportunity and Equal Opportunity Lender, insured by the NCUA. Visit Ent.com for more.

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CONTACT: Fred Jacobs
Ent Credit Union
(720)520-2894
fjacobs@ent.com