ENDWELL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Visions Federal Credit Union is easing the stress of student loan debt for educators across the community.

Over the summer, the bank awarded $1,000 to 100 educators through its Student Loan Eraser, a more recent addition to the Visions Loves Educators program. The program was created in 2018 to support educators in and out of the classroom.

Since its start, Visions Loves Educators has given exclusive account bonuses for qualifying educators and has provided grant opportunities for classroom projects through its Classroom Funding Program. In the last two years, the program has expanded to include the Student Loan Eraser and Educator of the Year awards. The Visions Loves Educators initiatives are overseen by Visions’ Marketing Program Administrator Lindsay Knaul.

“Through countless conversations with educators, we learned that the cost of attaining college degrees required by their profession is rarely balanced by their starting salaries. Often it leads to student debt that strains their financial well-being. We created the Student Loan Eraser to offer relief,” said Knual.

When the Student Loan Eraser program began, it was limited to 20 recipients. In 2023, Visions increased the available awards to 100.

“For many of these educators, an extra thousand dollars could relieve months of their student loan payments,” Knaul said. “That’s the impact we love to make with our programs and why we increased our commitment to educators this year.”

Visions contributed more than half a million dollars to support education initiatives in 2022 with the Visions Loves Educators program accounting for nearly $200,000 of that total. Visions continues to support schools and educators at all levels throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with financial wellness programs in more than 12 school districts as well as numerous colleges and universities.