In a large classroom on a recent gray morning, 25 students listen attentively, then write down this sentence as their teacher reads aloud: “The farmer grows vegetables.”
A mix of Haitians, Cape Verdeans, Central Americans and Africans, the students range in age from their early 20s to mid-70s. Some have lived in the United States for years; others, only a few months.
They are here to learn how to read, write and speak English.
Their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class is one of many courses offered at the MultiCultural Banking Center, a unique adult-education center founded by HarborOne Credit Union.
ESOL teacher Mary Ann Dorgan walks around the classroom, reviewing the students’ carefully written words and nodding approvingly.
“My teacher is a very good teacher, very nice,” Maria Anicet, a student from El Salvador, says in halting English.
In addition to ESOL, the center’s curriculum includes classes in financial literacy, computer skills and citizenship test preparation, as well as credit-counseling workshops. Classes are offered throughout the week, including evenings and weekends.
The center was founded in 2007 when a surge of foreclosures began overwhelming Brockton’s neighborhoods.
While English and computer classes may seem an odd response to the housing crisis, HarborOne president and chief executive James W. Blake says that language barriers, distrust of banks and the lack of a basic financial education had made many of the city’s minorities and immigrants targets for sub-prime lenders and costly check-cashing services.
“We looked at the lack of financial education being the problem,” Blake says.
The spike in foreclosures also underscored the 95-year-old credit union’s estrangement from the city’s large immigrant population.
“We started looking at why these people didn’t come to us,” not only for help with foreclosures, but with their initial mortgage applications, Blake recalls.
“They were people we could have financed in the traditional way,” he says. “In a depressed city with a minority population of 55 percent, if you aren’t penetrating that market, you might as well close your doors.”
‘Had To Be Profitable’
Blake and other HarborOne officials realized they needed to reach out to Brockton’s minority and immigrant residents.
In 2007, the credit union opened its Multicultural Banking Center downtown, in a section of its vacant, former main office.
Since then, the credit union has spent more than $300,000 renovating the 11,000-square-foot center, which has two classrooms and four full-time staff members.
A credit union branch – with a bilingual staff — is located on the first floor; the center also provides office space free of charge to local nonprofits.
A grant from the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation is helping fund the center’s latest expansion — construction of a computer lab/classroom and additional offices for Neighborhood Housing Services.
Since its opening, more than 3,000 residents have attended classes at the center, which has been hailed as a model for credit union community involvement. Credit union leaders from Brazil and Cape Verde’s prime minister have toured the center.
HarborOne’s employees have been enthusiastic, volunteering 3,500 hours of service – including free tax-return preparation for residents.
Most importantly, Blake says, the Multicultural Banking Center has strengthened HarborOne’s ties with Brockton’s immigrant and minority residents, while bolstering the credit union’s bottom line.
Each graduate who completes the 12-week financial literacy course receives a free checking account and a $500 line of credit from HarborOne, regardless of credit history. The credit line is increased to $1,000 if the graduate successfully maintains the account for one year.
Blake says the credit union has issued $30 million worth of mortgage and consumer loans as a direct result of the Multicultural Banking Center – achieving HarborOne’s goal of making the center self-reliant.
”We said from the start that the center had to be profitable within 12 months,” Blake notes.
Meanwhile, Brockton’s foreclosure mitigation success rate has improved from less than 5 percent in 2007 to more than 50 percent in 2009.
HarborOne U
Harbor One, which has 14 branches in southeastern Massachusetts, is developing outreach programs in other communities, Blake adds. Last June it opened HarborOne U, a financial education center, in its Mansfield branch.
Seminar topics address a wide range of personal financial concerns, such as home-buying, retirement and estate planning. Other programs address life-stage issues, such as selecting a college, choosing elder-care options and understanding Medicare benefits.
The center also offers small-business seminars, including managing cash flow and using social media for marketing.
With $1.8 billion in assets, HarborOne is the largest state-chartered community credit union in New England. Blake predicts the credit union’s outreach efforts will fuel continued growth.
“Everyone in the financial industry knows that building relationships is critical,” he says. “And what better way to do that than by becoming a trusted adviser?”
