Opportunity in a New Land – Biloxi, MS

Hyacinth Campbell’s calm demeanor and lyrical voice seem at odds with the struggles she’s faced. Campbell emigrated from Jamaica to Mississippi, where she found work in the housekeeping department of a resort hotel. Campbell trusted Hope Credit Union with her first checking account in her new country. When her husband died unexpectedly and HOPE loaned Campbell the money she needed to pay for his funeral expenses, she came to think of HOPE as more than just a credit union.

“I appreciate and I love this credit union from the depths of my heart,” Campbell says. “I am a stranger coming into this country, and they assisted me. I didn’t have any money at this time because I had just started working, but they assisted me. It was more than a blessing. All I could say was, ‘Thanks be to God.’”

Today, Campbell is looking forward to the day when HOPE will help her with her first mortgage loan. For Campbell, HOPE has come to symbolize the opportunity and promise of her new life in the United States. “From the day I came to this credit union, it has been good to me,” she says. “I would tell anyone, if you want a credit union to join, I have the best one. HOPE shows you what you can do and what you can achieve. This is where I have come to try and make my life. And as long as I make my life in Mississippi, I will make my life here, and I know that HOPE will help me very much. I really love it.”