BERKELEY -- The Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union recently donated more than $7,000 to Friends of Faith Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps low-income, underinsured women and men undergoing treatment for breast cancer, the credit union announced in a news release this week.

Cooperative Center members and its staff have supported Friends of Faith since 2011, holding fundraisers, collecting donations, promoting breast cancer awareness and participating in the annual Faith Fancher 5K Breast Cancer Challenge around Lake Merritt in Oakland, according to the news release.

Friends of Faith distributes funds to its beneficiaries throughout the Bay Area, including the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which is administered by the Women's Cancer Resource Center and provides up to $600 to low-income Alameda and Contra Costa County residents being treated for breast cancer.

Accepting the funds on behalf of Friends of Faith were board members Renel Brooks-Moon, public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants and host on radio station 98.1 KISQ-FM, and journalist Rosie Allen, who has worked for KGO TV and NewsTalk 910 radio.

"We are inspired and energized by the enthusiasm of our employees and members who walked with us and donated


generously in support of the Friends of Faith, Inc.," Debbie Crowson, the credit union's assistant vice president of marketing and charter group relations, said in the news release.

"The Bay Area community including many of our own credit union members have benefited from the work of Friends of Faith," Crowson added. "With many groups raising funds for research, we feel a greater connection to an organization serving local Bay Area women and men fighting the battle."

Established in 1942, Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union, at 2001 Ashby Ave., serves nearly 13,000 members and has more than $113 million in assets, according to the news release.

For more information about Friends of Faith, Inc. visit www.faithfancher.org. To learn more about the Friends of Faith Breast Cancer Emergency Fund and the Women's Cancer Resource Center, visit www.wcrc.org.

Contact Tom Lochner at 510-262-2760. Follow him at Twitter.com/tomlochner.