GREENPATH CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF SERVICE

GreenPath began on August 1, 1961, as a budgeting and financial education service that was part of the Michigan Credit Union League.  In 1968, business leaders with an interest in providing a source of financial information and counseling raised funds through a joint capitalization effort to create Credit Counseling Centers, Inc. (CCC), a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, CCC experienced exponential growth. The company not only expanded into multiple counties across Michigan, but also into other states including Illinois and New York. From 1988 to 1994, CCC more than doubled the number of office locations from 14 to 30 and tripled the number of consumers served from 2,932 to 9,000.

In 2001, Credit Counseling Centers, Inc. assisted more consumers than in any other previous year, counseling 41,818 people. In July 2001, the company changed its name to GreenPath, Inc., doing business as GreenPath Debt Solutions, in an effort to establish a unique brand identity as a national leader in financial counseling and education.

In 2010, GreenPath counseled 370,411 people, added eight offices and broke ground on a new headquarters in Farmington Hills Michigan. The four-story, 125,000 foot facility will house more than 450 employees in a state of the art headquarters and call center. Growth continued in 2011, when GreenPath added 17 more offices.

Today, GreenPath employs nearly 600 people across the country. The company operates 61 full-time branch offices in Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Vermont, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona and Wyoming.  They also deliver services throughout the United States over the Internet and telephone.

FACEBOOK FEEDBACK …

Clients give us feedback on our Facebook page from time to time. Here’s a recent message from Katie:

GreenPath saved our financial 'lives'....we were close to bankruptcy by the time we met with our local GreenPath credit counselor. Years of living beyond our means with credit cards and attempts to refinance the mortgage, etc. led to major financial stress and disaster when the economy 'tanked'. GreenPath enabled us to work with our creditors for lower interest rates and 'do-able' monthly payments. I no longer lose sleep or worry about losing our home; thank you GreenPath!!!

You can ‘like’ GreenPath by logging onto our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/greenpathdebt

GREENPATH ON CNN’s “YOUR BOTTOM LINE”

David Flores, GreenPath NY Manager and counselor appeared recently on CNN's "Your Bottom Line" with Christine Romans, the leading financial talk show on television.

David was featured in two segments "Is it okay to walk away from your mortgage?" and "When will the housing market recover?" He was joined by Jim Carr, Chief Business Officer for the National Community Re-Investment Coalition and Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/Max Real Estate.

David discussed issues related to the importance of homeowners to reach out to nonprofit housing groups for free counseling when they have questions or concerns related to their mortgage. He stressed that it is important that homeowners reach out before they get into trouble.

You can watch the segments through GreenPath’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/greenpathdebt)  or log on http://yourbottomline.blogs.cnn.com and scroll down to the segment “When will the housing market recover.”

ARE YOU PULLING AND REVIEWING YOUR FREE CREDIT REPORTS?

It seems that every day we see headlines about individuals and entire corporations having their identity compromised through hacking into online databases or having individual credit card numbers stolen through personal identity theft.

One way for you to stop such ID theft is to review your credit reports through www.annualcreditreport.com. This central site allows you to request a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

As the different credit reporting companies can have slightly different data, it is a good idea to review all three reports by spreading them out over the calendar year. For example, pull Equifax in January, Experian in May and TransUnion in September.

If you have questions once you pull your report, reach out to GreenPath at www.greenpath.com to schedule an in-person free counseling session at one of our 61 offices across the United States or over the phone.

GREENPATH DEBT SOLUTIONS TIMELINE – 1961 TO PRESENT

1961                       Company founded as part of the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL).

1967                       Became the first organization providing housing counseling services to be certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

1968                       Business leaders, with an interest in providing a source of financial information and counseling, raised funds through a joint capitalization effort to create Credit Counseling Centers, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

1970s-1980’s         Established stand-alone credit counseling organizations in additional states, including Maine, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma.

1985                       Expanded services into Moline, Illinois.

1988-1994             More than doubled the number of office locations (from 14 to 30) and tripled the number of clients served annually (from 2,932 to 9,000).

1995                       Formed Credit Counseling Service of Southern New York; opened six offices in metropolitan New York. Introduced a call center in an effort to meet demand for services over the phone.

1999                       Opened offices in Arizona and Wisconsin.

2000                       Initiated business registration and licensing efforts to become a national service provider.          

2001                       Changed the corporate name from Credit Counseling Centers, Inc. to GreenPath, Inc. doing business as GreenPath Debt Solutions, in an effort to establish a unique brand identity as a national leader in financial counseling and education.

2003                       Began marketing the Accel Members Financial Counseling program to credit unions.

2004                       Opened offices in Indiana through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northern Indiana, Inc.

2005                       Became approved by the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST) to provide bankruptcy counseling and education services.

2006                       Opened a second location in Farmington Hills that accommodated up to 240 employees to meet the demand for bankruptcy counseling and education services.        

2009                       Opened office in the West Loop area of Chicago, Illinois.

2010                       Broke ground in April on a new company headquarters building in Farmington Hills, which is set to open in Q4 2011.

2010                       Opened four offices in Florida in January through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Mid-Florida. Opened four offices in September in Northern Texas through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of North Central Texas.

2011                       Opened four offices in south Texas through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of South Texas. Opened nine offices in New Hampshire and Vermont through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of New Hampshire and Vermont.  Opened four offices in Colorado and Wyoming through an asset transfer agreement with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Northern Colorado and Southeast Wyoming.