Good News York by Growth Mode Content - GNY EP.137 | Feat. Gwyneth Settar & Kristin Thompson Henry

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

Good News York: An Inspiring Chat with Disney on Ice Star Gwyneth Setter and Empower Credit Union's Community Impact This episode of Good News York, sponsored by GetAdsOnTheGo.com, features an engaging interview with Gwyneth Setter, a performer and figure skater for Disney on Ice. Gwyneth shares her inspiring journey into professional ice skating, the audition process for Disney on Ice, the rigorous yet rewarding nature of her career, and her experiences performing around the world. The episode also covers her influences, both familial and professional, and the heartfelt interactions she has had with children during her performances. Additionally, the show highlights the community outreach endeavors of Empower Credit Union. Matt's follow-up interview with Kristen Thompson Henry, the Community Impact Officer at Empower Credit Union, delves into their financial literacy programs for K-12 students, community grants, and various charitable activities, including collaborations with the Syracuse Women's Basketball Team and support for the Central New York Food Bank. Kristen also discusses Empower's efforts in providing free financial advice and services to underserved communities. The episode concludes with holiday greetings and an overview of Good News York's social media presence. 00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:22 Special Guest Introduction: Gwyneth Setter 01:18 Gwyneth's Skating Journey 02:29 Auditioning for Disney on Ice 03:43 Acting and Skating: A Unique Combination 04:28 Family and Influences 05:40 Turning Passion into a Career 10:01 Life on Tour with Disney on Ice 11:18 Travel Experiences and Challenges 14:12 Interacting with Fans 16:35 Training and Recovery 18:49 Rapid Fire Questions 21:16 Disney on Ice Promotion and Interview with Gwyneth Setter 22:12 Good News York Sign-Off and Upcoming Episodes 22:51 Introduction to the Next Segment with Matt Masur 23:05 Interview with Kristen Thompson: Community Impact Officer 23:26 Financial Literacy Programs by Empower Credit Union 29:27 Empower Credit Union's Community Initiatives 36:06 Empower Credit Union's Expansion and Services 38:57 Conclusion and Holiday Wishes

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and Unirold's 50th anniversary summer specials. Hello and welcome to another edition of Good News York, sponsored by Ads on the Go, get ads on the go.com. Matt's not with me here today. I think he's out looking for the abominable snowman. Who knows? But I am joined by a very special guest remotely today, someone who I tried to interview a few days ago,

but because of the snowstorm, the interview got canceled or interrupted. We don't know what happened. If it was me, if it was her, doesn't matter because she's here now. Disney on Ice presents Road Trip Adventures, December 26 and 29th, excuse me, at upstate medical university arena

at the OnCenter War Memorial. Get your ticket to Ticketmaster.com. and joining me from Disney on Ice, one of the characters who we will not tell you who that is, one of the many characters, I should say, actress, figure skater, and just all-around great person. Gwyneth Seder. Gwinnett. Hello. How are you?

It's good to see you. You too. So I want to start off. Your background is really, really impressive. You began ice skating at quite a young age, and your family did have a lot to do with that. Tell us about how it all began. I know your aunt was a figure skater, your mom was involved. Yeah, so my mom and my aunt both grew up figure skating.

My mom started like she went to a birthday party, really loved it. And then my mom, that her grandmother, or my grandmother, her mom signed her up for it. And then her sister followed. And I grew up skating their whole lives. And then when I was little, I would go and watch my aunt because my aunt decided to continue it professionally. And she would do Disney on Ice and other contracts. And I would go visit her and watch her.

And it was really cool. And I really looked up to her. And then when I turned 18, I was like, yes, I really want to do that as well. So I auditioned for Disney on Ice and I got a contract. and then we both end up being able to tour together. So it's really cool. That's amazing. Yeah.

Tell us about the experience for trying out for Disney on Ice. What's that process like? Because, you know, in theater or actually in film or TV, a lot of times you go in person and you do a monologue or you dance or you send in a reel. But with the figure skating element involved, what was that process like? Yeah, so I had just to make a whole audition video of the things that they're looking for, like choreography, tricks that you have, just showing off your personality and who you were. I submitted that when I had just got out of high school, 18, and then it took months to like back and forth for kind of response of what they're looking for, what they needed to see. And I also ended up submitting a pair video of me doing pairs just to show them what else I could do.

And after months later, they responded on how to spot for me, which was like the dream come true. Wow. And, you know, so with Disney on ice, there's obviously the ice element, right? There's the figure skating element. That's all you've known. That's all you've, you know, you've worked so hard at. But obviously, when you're putting on a performance for Disney on Ice, there's an element of Is that something you had experience in or was it something that you kind of had to learn on the fly?

Yeah, so I never like did anything in school or anything related to acting. But like I said, in, for example, we portray things like flowers and bumblebees and we have to know how to move our bodies and portray that role out there on the ice. So it is a little bit of thinking. but the choreography helps. They'll give you what you need. And, like, of course, a flower is going to flow through the wind, so we're going to use our hands, like, we're flying through the wind, you know? I love that.

Yeah. That's brilliant. Aside from your mom and your aunt, who were obviously big influences on your career, did you have any influences outside of your family that kind of, that as you were growing up, you looked up to, whether it was in acting or skating? I mean, my coaches were a big part. I wouldn't have, want to be where I am without them, of course. And some of them were Olympian. Some of them were just really competitive skaters and they helped me a lot. But it was mostly family that really was the biggest influence. And my grandmother was the one who took me to all the practices, made sure I made it to dance for because you need a ballet to do ice skating. Like just the arm movements and everything. And the gym, my mom was a, a,

personal trainer. She helped me a lot with working out and building up that strength and endurance to be able to skate out there. So there's a lot of family that really came together to help me be where I am today for sure. Yeah, it sounds like, I mean, it sounds like you were really set up for success. I mean, you were surrounded by not only a family that was completely supportive of this as a career choice, but that had a ton of experience in all of it. So at one point, you know, With athletes especially, there comes like this, I don't want to say a crossroads, but there comes a time when you start realizing that either, wow, you know what, I'm good enough to like really make this a career professionally or sometimes, you know what,

I just don't have it. At what point do you realize like, hey, I've got the talent to do this. But also, when did you realize that you wanted to turn this into a career? I mean, we've been training like our whole lives. And some people take that competitive route and want to just competition competition. I really knew I wanted to do this. When I started to go visit my aunt on, I liked age eight or nine. And I just saw how cool the job it was.

She took me backstage a little later on like around 15, 16. So I could kind of see what goes on back there. And I just knew after that, I was like, this is what I want to do. No, I wasn't very into competitions because. They really made me nervous and it just wasn't my, I don't know, it just wasn't my thing. I just wanted to have fun with skating and show off my personality and just, I just wanted people to look and be like, oh my gosh, I'm having fun, you know? Well, you do that.

And it's pretty clear that that's what's going on. You've worked so hard for this. What was your vision of a career in skating, though? Was it, was Disney on Ice something you were shooting for from the beginning? Or was it something? I mean, obviously you said, you know, you watched your aunt do it. So I'm assuming maybe that was always the goal. Or did you kind of have other visions of maybe, you know, competing, even though I know you said it makes you nervous.

Yeah. No, never, like I stopped competing very young and I just wanted to work hard because I knew shows. I guess it necessarily didn't have to be Disney. That was definitely the top goal. But when I turned that age of 18 and I know shows were high. I applied everywhere I could to try and get a contract because there's so many of us and not a lot of shows always. Oh, absolutely. You know, when I was younger, I did some community theater and academic theater.

And one thing I remember being so intense was in between scenes, sometimes people don't realize there are these really intense wardrobe changes where you run off stage and people are undressing you and dressing you so you can get right back out there. I actually thought about this question on the way here today. I was like, man, how do you do that with ice skates? Is that an extra element of like stress and making it tougher? How do you work around that? Yeah, I mean, there are some quick changes. All of our costume have zippers in the legs, so they're very easily able to fit our ice skate through. but you know there's wigs there's different tops like many different zippers clips everything

I think one of the fastest changes in not our show in particular but in another one was 30 seconds so it's very fast similar to what you're saying with musical theater but there's always somebody there to help and make sure we're out there on time for sure that's amazing yeah did you when you got the Disney on ice gig you know I'm assuming you take what you get but was there ever a moment where you're like, I have, you have your sight set on a character that you, you were hoping you would play. And if not, or if so, also, what would be your dream character to play for Disney? Oh my gosh. I mean, I always wanted to be a princess, of course. Yes. That's like the goal. But I have gotten to portray, in our show, we have a princess number

where all the princesses come out. And I have gotten. to do Rapunzel before, so that was really cool. But never like a segment of the show, I really wanted to do the Rapunzel segment, which we unfortunately don't have. But in the future, maybe, I would really look forward to trying that out. Well, Disney, if you're listening, I know you are. Rapunzel, let's make it happen. Yeah, it would be awesome.

If you can, walk us through, I'm fascinated by, you know, walk us through a, you know, walk us through a day or a week in the life of a Disney on ice performer. You know, the rehearsals, the performances, maybe even some of your downtime. What I imagine it's a... It's a gentle cruising. You start to see the village, almost like a painting. Join me, travel expert Darley Newman and Uneworld Boutique River Cruises L'ouique Bali to learn about river cruising in France. As we have been sailing there for decades, we have been able to create deep connection

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depending on when we have the show. And we will have to reverse just the flies and make sure everyone is set to go for the weekend that we have ahead. And then for the rest of the weekend, it shows. But depending on if, like last week, we had three shows, three days in a row. So that was a lot of work we had in a row that we weren't really at the hotel much. But depending on the city, we have two shows and sometimes we can grab dinner after or other times. We're just, you know, at work. But it's all fun. Yeah. It's really cool. You know, obviously you get to travel all over the world doing this. What are some of your favorite parts of traveling and then also your least favorite parts? Yeah. I say I just like experiencing like the cultures of where we're

going. We've been Australia, Japan, the UK, like everywhere is so different. My biggest struggle, though, is sometimes finding the things you want in the grocery stores. It's so silly, but when you live on the road and you are cooking and making sure you're getting proper nutrition, sometimes you're like, I'm vegetarian too, so it's a little bit harder. But sometimes you're like, oh, I don't know what this is or I don't know. It's in a different language. So I'd say like the language barrier and grocery shopping. It's so funny. No, that's a great answer.

That's exactly why I was asking because we think of performers that go on the road. We think about all the fun times and going out and enjoying things. I love getting into the minutiae of the day-to-day things like, where do you find toothpaste? You know what I mean? If you're gluten-free, how do you find that? So I totally get that. Do you have a list or maybe even a... a favorite place that you have visited?

Or maybe that like you visited and it just blew your mind? Yeah, so many because I've been somewhere, so many places. But I really enjoy Thailand. I think like you were getting dinner for a dollar and the markets were just insanely big and you were touching elephants and feeding them bananas. It was mind blowing to me. I love like any city vibe. So anywhere in the UK and London area was amazing.

Japan, there's just so different from Maritza. It's so polite, respectful. They just are so happy to see other people visiting their country. I don't know. I felt the safest I've ever felt there as well. Like, it's a very respectful country. It's very different. That's amazing.

I traveled quite a bit as a performer over the years. And I found that one of the best things, things you can do is I always would find locals and I would say, tell me, like, what do I have to have, whether it's food and experience? Do you do the same thing? Because that's like my favorite thing to do when I'm traveling. Yeah, it's actually funny because a lot of us take Ubers or lists like places. So we'll always ask our Uber driver and usually ends up being like, oh yeah, don't hear because they're used to talking to all these people. But similar. That's where it's at.

You can look on TripAdvisor or Yelp or whatever. Google reviews, but the best review you can get is straight from, you know, someone who lives there or works there. You perform for a lot of people on a weekly basis and your primary target audience is obviously children. I've taken my kids to Disney on Ice. I've taken my wife to Disney on Ice. I got to hear that. It's time for a wholesome moment. What's like the cutest thing a child has done or said to you at a show?

Because I know that's probably like the most rewarding part of it. Yeah, I mean, it's honestly, they're so cute. We have so many interactive moments and I was doing the one where we would pull some family up to ride inside the Magic Mobile, which comes out with Mickey, many, Donald, Goofy. And the kids like faces when that would come out and they'd realize that they would get to go on that was like, it was like so cute. they're like, we get to write on that. Like, for us, like, so many cute things. And just the high fives, like, they'll run up to the ice if they see you,

any type of character and want to, like, they just get so happy. Or even, like, mothers or fathers of faces are, like, wine open when they see the character come down the aisle. It's so funny. Amazing. I just actually thought of a question, right, as you were speaking. in theater and in performance a lot of times there are understudies for the purpose of people get sick you know things happen with ice skating there's a obviously outside of the acting and theatrics

there's a there's a athletic element to it and injuries happen do you find that you guys have kind of two or three people that play one character in case of that how does that work yeah we do You have understudies. Everyone gets three, sometimes four. And just like you said, an injury happens, or just to change it up, sometimes you don't want to do the same thing over and over again every week. And there's other people that are good at the same thing. So give them an opportunity.

And just everyone is, we're all professionals and good at what we do. So I really show because it gives us a break. Gwen, another question I just thought of is, you're very young. So this is something that's probably not something you have to worry about right now. But as you get older, you're going to find, trust me, I'm old, there are going to be days where you wake up and you're going to go, oof, I'm a little sore. Yeah. Is there a team that aids with training and recovery?

Is that something you do on your own? And what does that look like for some of the performers? Good question. So we have an athletic trainer. I'll shout him out. It's Jay. And he is really amazing. he's with us full time

always when we're working all day, every day and any time we need something, we can go into his office. His office is always set up backstage, and he's in charge of all medical for the show and make sure we're in tip-top shape for everything that we do. Awesome. It takes a village.

One more question, and then I want to do some rapid-fire questions before we get out of here. Gwyneth Sutter, you're amazing. Disney on Ice, actress, performer, ice skater. Actually, what would you, what is your title, actually? What should I say? The Gwyneth Setter.

I'm a performer, yeah. I love it. I don't usually like to ask a question like this because it can come across as kind of a hacky question, but I think it just applies for this interview and for this situation. So I have a daughter who's 11, and she's been dancing since she's probably been four, and she's really, really good at it. And I'm not just saying that because I'm her dad. It's like we were talking earlier.

You start realizing like, whoa, she's really good. Do you have any advice for young girls who might, you know, want to pursue a career in skating or performing, you know, any advice at all or even things not to do? Yeah, I mean, obviously, like, keep working at what you're doing. If your child or like any young girl loves what they're doing and has a really good coach, the coaches are a big part of it. I always say, like, to the parents make sure you go talk to the coach and make sure it's what you would want for your daughter. But yeah, if you just keep working towards it and try new things too, if there's other sports or other activities that interest, any of the girls out there, boys out there, then you should give it a shot. And you never know. Like, just keep working like I did.

And you could end up here. I love that. That's perfectly said. Gwyneth Seder, Disney on Ice. I'd like to do, oh, let me see. I would like to do a couple series of rapid-fire questions if that's possible. Of course. You down for that?

Yeah. All right. All right. Let's do it. Nothing major. Here we go. Start the music. No, I'm kidding.

I don't have any music. All right, here we go. Question one. Favorite Disney princess? Rapunzel. Oh, very good. I should have known that one. Least favorite villain in a Disney movie.

Uh, Ursula. I always think of Gaston. He always made me so angry. Oh, yeah, he's terrible. You know what? No, you're right. Ursula stole her voice. That was messed up. Thanks. All right. Favorite ice skater? Can I say my aunt? Oh, my God. That's the cutest answer. I should be mad, but I can't. That's too good.

Okay. Favorite food on the road? Yogurt. Yogurt? Yeah. You are disciplined, young lady. I'm impressed. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no?

Absolutely not. Uh-uh. Thank you. I thought for sure you were going to say yes. I thought the Disney world, your open-minded, it's magical. Thank you. Pineapple does not belong on pizza. It belongs to my yogurt.

Yes. Or yogurt. Coffee. Yes or no. And if so, what's your order? I'm not a big coffee person. I cannot do the caffeine, so no. That's fair. That's fair.

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Where? Liquiddeath.com. As just a segment role. All right. And two more. Your dream place to visit or even live someday that you haven't been to you. I want to go to Korea so bad. I have never been. But I'm into like all the skincare and everything.

Really want to go. I love it. My daughter's into that too. She does all these videos where she gets ready and she knows more about makeup than my wife. It's insane. All right. Last one. I think I know the answer to this, but I'm just going to say, if you had to choose,

skating or acting, which one is it? Skating, but you need acting to be able to skate in the show. So both. Well said. Yeah. When it's setter, Disney on Ice, Disney on Ice presents road trip adventures December 26 to the 29th at the upstate medical university arena at the OnCenter War Memorial. Tickets, family-friendly pricing. Get them now at Ticketmaster.com or in person at the venue box office.

Absolute last thing, Gwinneth, do you have anything you want to plug, anything you want to say, promote before we go? No, it's just a great gift for the holidays, and it would be amazing to see all your families here to watch us and be able to cheer on your favorite characters all in one place. Well, Gwyneth Setter, you are a very impressive young woman. Thank you. Thank you so much for giving us your time. We wish you the best of luck with Disney on Ice, and we will see you December 26th or 29th right here in Syracuse for Disney on Ice. Presents Road Trip Adventures. Gwen Setter, thank you.

And with that, it is another edition of Good News York. Matt's coming in later. He's got an interview all lined up after this. I'm saying goodbye to you. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas. Thank you. To everybody, be safe, have fun. Remember, you can follow Good News York on all socials at Good News York.

Good NewsYork.com. New episodes Monday through Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern. and I am Mike Brindisi. You can follow me on socials at Mike B TV. And it is Good News York sponsored by ads on the go. Get ads on the go.com. See you soon. Hey guys.

Welcome back to Good News York. I'm Matt Major from Clickstream Studios. We are joined by a really, really incredible guest. We've got a lot of really fun things to talk about in the community. But let's jump right in. I am joined by Kristen Thompson Henry. Did I get that right? Beautiful.

Beautiful. And you are the community impact officer. I am. At Empower Credit Union. That's correct. Is that all right? I got to write on the first try, guys. All right.

This is cool. Kristen, what do you do? What is this community impact all about? Yeah. So I do a lot of things, actually. But my primary focus is financial literacy. So I specialize and the department that I'm in, specializes in financial education K through 12.

So our days can look very different from day to day. And we kind of go in and support the teachers and bring some sort of financial literacy program to the students. And that may look different depending on the age group that we're in. So for instance, K through three might be as simple thing as like bringing a book in and reading to the classroom. but it has some sort of undertone talking about wants versus needs and having the kids kind of understand that concept. And then when we get into kind of the middle school age, we have them kind of pair up into teams, groups, and really kind of work on a budgeting exercise where we give them an envelope of things, where they live, where they, how much debt they're in, all that other stuff. They've got to work as a team to, you know, stay within budget, pay their bills. Now, those are always interesting because they have to be dealt with what they're given.

Sure. But also they can't, you know, change their family. You know, the group they're working with and they're that nuclear family right there. And it's really kind of teaching them the foundation of budgeting and trying to course correct if you get caught off guard with expenses. But the meat and potato of our financial literacy. program is something that we call mad sitting money. And that is for our juniors and seniors. We tend to keep it there because there's an expectation that they know a little bit about credit score and credit cards and things like that. But that's really our financial

simulations that we bring into the school. Again, we transport them five years in advance. They're already working in their career. Some of them have a dual income. They all will have debt, depending on the profession that they are given. They might have a student loan. And then they have to go through maddening money and make real life decisions, such as car, housing, food, health insurance, kids. And some of those tables will be limited depending on their credit score and what that will look like for them.

So it's a very real world experience, really 101, adulting 101. and the kids usually come out with either. They always learn something, but some kids say, I need to go home and thank my parents. And we're like, yeah, you do. That's incredible. What inspired a credit union to launch such a program? Yeah, I think, you know, the credit union is really a foundation of a financial institution

of helping people. It is a really simple concept, but one that, I, I think in today's world, everyone needs. You know, what we kind of pride ourselves on at Empower, we do, when you go into a branch of ours and you are a member, if you're not recognized by me and you're certainly recognized by things, that you felt like your family when you come in. Because discussing finances are not always the most comfortable thing to do. And so we want to make sure that we're meeting people where they are and listening to what they actually are. needing for us. And, you know, a big part of that is education. And so if we can start early and giving them the foundation of what finances will look like, I think we're going to be on

a path for that generational wealth that we're ultimately trying to strive for at the credit union. That's incredible. What an incredible just investment in the community to be made there. If you wouldn't mind, tell me a little bit about the folks you work with. Do you have a whole team? Is this a division? Yeah. How does that work? We have a team. There's four of us, but they're not.

Yep, four of us that actually do that financial literacy program. And you folks go right in the schools yourselves and present it. Yeah, we do. We also, you know, provide some of our partners with, you know, online education materials so that they can, you know, do it themselves. But a lot of the times the teachers are like, no, it'll come better coming from you. So we'll go in as a guest speaker and kind of livening things up a little. but, and there's four of us.

We kind of are in every school district that we are asked to begin. And it's a free program. I need to lead with that. It's free. We have, as long as we have the time and the need is there, we will try to be there. That's incredible. It is. It's so necessary, too.

It's one of those things that you almost think, well, don't they just do that naturally in school? And unfortunately, no. right. So, you know, nowadays, so when I was growing up, this was never a thing. Like, we took math, we took, you know, English, you took science. And that financial literacy component is now starting to be more introduced into the curriculum. So us adding this extra, you know, sort of support, I think is valued by the teacher because it is, it is part of their curriculum now. But we're adding a bunch of things into it. We're, we're supporting. We're supporting. it so that it is more personable, more hands-on, more conversation because we don't want to be lectured about our finance is ever, right? It has to be a conversation. So I think it goes both ways. That's incredible. I remember when I was a kid, we had savings accounts from the local bank, but that was as far as it went. You know, that was the extent of financial literacy is put a dollar in it every week, you know, and that'll your life will be great, I guess. It would quite work out that way.

but I love this. I love hearing about this. So you're also doing some other things, right? Out in the community, you're out giving some grants and feeding some folks and doing all kinds of things. Tell me a little bit about first and foremost what you've been doing with the Syracuse Women's Basketball team. Awesome. Okay. So another side of my job is to work with nonprofits, you know, putting our support towards, you know,

organizations that help members of our community the most. And that can look in the form of a financial contribution. They can also look in in terms of time and talent of our employees giving to that organization. So I helped facilitate that in my role. So with Syracuse basketball, we are very excited because we had an agreement with them where, you know, Syracuse Women's Basketball and that we had a free throw competition. And, you know, throughout their season, and, you know, we're still in the season, but so far, you know, anyone that made a three-for-old contest, whoever made it could get $25 and it would benefit the Food Bank of Central New York. So we ran this from the beginning of the season until probably about the end of November right before Thanksgiving and equaled out to being about a lot.

$8,600 just off of that contest. So that means a lot of people went up and tried to try their hand at free throwing and made the basket. Sounds like they're pretty good, too. That translated into, you know, doing good in our community. And, of course, the Food Bank of Central New York is just one of the most vital nonprofits, feeding people. Absolutely. Taking that, you know, one of the basic needs that we need as human and taking that pressure

are also families. So it just made it a simple and realistic connection right there. That's incredible. That's incredible. And then there's some other things you've been doing to help the food bank as well, right? Is that, is that a? So one of the other things that we do is we try very hard to listen to our members. You know, we cannot be in business if we're not serving our members the way that we need to. And so throughout the year, we try to do these number surveys. Remember contact surveys? And of course, you know, not everybody will, will answer to an email that says, you know, fill out this number. So we tried to make it a little bit more exciting and incentivize those that would fill out the survey and in completion. And we said

that if you, as you filled this out, give us some real-time feedback on how we are doing, we promise to donate money to the CMI Food Bank. Oh, wow. And so we did. in two phases. The first one was during the first half of the year and the second one ended again on November 30th. And that also equaled out to almost $17,000. So that is really special because one, we heard from our members and that sort of incentive. So that showed our members care about our community. They wanted to show that the connection between, you know, their voice and how we show up for our community, that connection is right there. That's really, really, really nice.

What's been the feedback from some members when you kind of put that? That's kind of a unique offer, a great way to get folks to participate in things. What was some of the feedback when folks heard that their participation was a donation? Yeah, you know, we got very positive feedback, you know, especially, I think the second phase really sort of tugged on some heartstrings a little bit just because of the food insecurity issues were happening. And I think it was just the right timing, you know, especially towards the holidays, people get a little bit more generous and they want families to gather. And so they really wanted to make sure that our community didn't go without. Sure. What a great way to let people help

very easily. Yep. And along those lines, you're also helping folks for the holiday season, right? Yes, yes. So again, one of the things that we do to support our nonprofit partners, we kind of do sponsorships and donations and those can be in the form of, you know, we need money to support a certain program. And sometimes it's, you know, going shopping for some of their clients, you know. So we were really privileged to be called upon to work with the rescue mission and their crossroads program that are, it's about 30 men. who were experiencing homelessness or certainly in housing and security. And they take up a kind of a Christmas wish list. And what we are given is their ultimate Christmas wish list.

And then, you know, some of the staples that, you know, some of us go and have every day that we take for granted, you know, such as underwear and under shirts. And some of the, we had 30 individuals that were given to us. And some of the things that were on their ultimate wish lists were a pair of, dress pants, you know, a pair of dress shoes, sneakers. One gentleman asked for a case of Pepsi, you know, like those are the simple things that, you know, if that's going to bring them joy, we are going to do it. Sure. And so we were very, very proud that we were able to do that in such a manner, and those baskets will be given out on Christmas Day. That's incredible. That's a lot of fun. It sounds like you have one of these jobs.

that is no doubt challenging with all the everything you've just listed is is kind of under you, but also quite rewarding, right? I really love it. I really love it. I'm someone that, you know, before coming to empower, I worked in nonprofit, so I understand the many hats and the constant, you know, struggle to try and meet a need and connecting mission to need. And so when I found this kind of job at Empower, I've been with them for about two years now, it kind of just married my passion and my expertise. And I just said, you know, this is what it was meant to be. So while the tasks are big and mighty, but they're ones that need to be had.

That's awesome. If you could, take just a minute for folks that aren't familiar. Just tell us a little bit about Empower in general, kind of what areas do you cover and those sorts of things. So Empower is a financial institution, you know, you can go in there and open up a savings account, a checking account. We also offer loans, you know, car loans, mortgage loans, personal loans as far as businesses. We also have that education component, which would fall under, you know, the department that I'm in. we, you know, anything that would help you financially, you can come into Empower and ask for. One of the things that we cried ourselves on is that we're not one that will turn you away based on a credit score.

What we would try to do is what we call storybook lending. You know, we would try to get to know the person, get to know what your goals are, what your aspirations are, and then say, okay, let's map out a plan that would work, Now, would put you on a better past for good, but also, you know, not put you in so much debt. So let's talk about what that might look like. You know, so we really try to service the underserved and try to meet people where they are, really listen. Because that's the major component to, you know, talking to someone about finances. It's not about what we want. It's about what they need.

And that listening component really comes into play when you come into an Empower branch. That's incredible. Just in general, what kind of areas do you serve? And is it just in the 315 area code? Are you beyond that? We're beyond that. So we are obviously, we're very heavily in central New York. Sure.

That's how we were founded. A long time ago, we were part of the power federal credit union, which was out of the Niagara Mojok. Gotcha. And then merged from empire, I mean, empire and power to empower. Okay. And then we've had some acquisitions. And so we're in the southern tier, we're in, you know, all the way up to our north countries. And then we've also opened a branch in Buffalo.

So we're expanding into the western New York as well. All over New York State. And God willing, we'll continue to expand and truly make our mark in New York State. That's great. And that's got to add a little more to your plate as well, right, as you start to find all these new communities. It does, but it's good. Again, it's a task that, you know, I think it's needed and one that it truly is heartwarming when you can just kind of go in and just say, well, what is your community need? Yeah.

And have them tell you and then, you know, get that real-time feedback. That's so great. Kristen, we're going to let you get back to doing this great work here in just a moment. But before we do, why don't you share with us people, they? want to support this or get involved or just follow what you do. What's the best ways for them to do that? So we have a social media platform. We're on all social media platforms.

So LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, all of that. You can follow how we do. If you have any questions or if you are, you yourself or an organization that is needing some of the extra support, volunteer support, you can go into a local branch. You can ask to be directed. and because all of our staff are well equipped on trying to connect us to this department, especially if it's a financial literacy component to it. If you have an after-school program, if you have, you know, working adults that just need, you know, a special session on finances,

please, by all means, walk into a branch, ask to get in touch with the community impact department, and we will certainly get back to you. That's incredible. That's incredible. Kristen Thompson, Henry, community impact officer at Empire Federal Credit Union. I really appreciate you spending some time with us here on Good News York. This is exactly why we exist is kind of share these stories of incredible people, incredible organizations doing good for all over New York State.

So that's definitely what you're up to. I appreciate the invite. Come back anytime you've got fundraisers. you've got events, just good stories to share. We would love to have you and help share the words. So thank you so much. Thank you. And for that, I think that's the end of our episode and probably the last episode before the

holiday. So Merry Christmas. And we will see you. I don't know. Maybe we'll do another one before the new year. We'll have to see how Mike and I feel after the holidays. The kids might wipe us out. But we'll see.

And there's more good news. Peace out. They say if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. At Amika Insurance, we know what matters most to you. And we work even harder to protect it. Together. As a mutual insurance company, we're built for our customers and prioritize your needs.

Amika, empathy is our best policy. Visit amica.com and get a quote today. It's a gentle cruising. You start to see the village, almost like a painting. Join me, travel expert Darley Newman, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises L'Ik Balee to learn about river cruising in France. As we have been sailing there for decades, we have been able to create deep connection with the local communities. Local connections make exploring France easy. Tune into the Travels with Darley podcast on IHeart and wherever you listen to podcasts to hear about river cruising and Univorold's 50th anniversary summer specials.

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