Manchester's Famed Silk City Chorus Gets American Eagle Donation

MANCHESTER, CT — Manchester's renowned Silk City Chorus has received a donation from a regionals credit union program.

American Eagle Financial Credit Union Monday announced the three top vote-getting charitable organizations that will receive $23,166 in donations from 2021's first round of the participatory funding program, Cash Back to the Community.

Silk City Chorus of Manchester, the Connecticut Gold Star Families Memorial Monument (future site in Berlin) and the Police Athletic League of Hartford each received a donation of $7,772 for earning the most votes in AEFCU's Cash Back to the Community.

The current quarter marked the highest number of nominations submitted (205) in the continuously growing quarterly program, and more than 4,700 individuals visited americaneagle.org to cast votes for local organizations they support.

Since the program’s inception just one year ago, AEFCU has donated $109,591 to qualifying nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves through Cash Back to the Community.

"Announcing our quarterly winners for Cash Back to the Community has become one of our favorite times of the year at American Eagle," said Dean Marchessault, president and CEO of American Eagle Financial Credit Union. "Not only do we get to fulfill our mission of being community focused and connect our members to our philanthropic efforts, but we get to witness such great enthusiasm through the voting process and shine a light on the amazing work all the nominees are performing in our service areas. We very much look forward to kicking off the next round of Cash Back to the Community in the coming weeks and encourage organizations in the counties we serve to get or stay involved in the program."

AEFCU donates 1 percent of its credit and debit card interchange income to three nonprofit and/or 501(c)(3) organizations each quarter through the Cash Back to the Community program. Funding for the program is generated each time its members use an American Eagle Financial Credit Union credit or debit card. At the end of each quarter, one percent of the total interchange income — the fee paid for credit and debit card transactions — is distributed to the three top qualified nonprofits, as voted on by a combination of American Eagle’s members and the public.

Silk City Chorus of Manchester has performed for audiences throughout the state and is consistently ranked as the best-performing barbershop chorus in Connecticut, as well as one of the best choruses throughout New England.

"On behalf of the Manchester Connecticut Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society we extend our very special thanks to American Eagle Financial Credit Union for all they do in support of our local communities," said its president, Scott Tibbo. "This donation comes at a vital time during the pandemic and will help fund critical aspects of our operation, including the purchase of sheet music and learning tracks, uniforms, props and staging for our performances, targeted outreach, and other volunteer efforts."

To learn more about Silk City Chorus, visit manchesterchorus.org.