In the wake of catastrophic hurricanes Harvey and Irma, credit union entities continue to band together to provide relief for credit union employees and members living in the areas hardest hit by the storm.
The National Credit Union Foundation announced on Monday that it has activated the online disaster relief system CUAid.coop to raise money for credit union people affected by Hurricane Irma. Credit union supporters in every state can make donations at cuaid.coop.
Not forgetting the tragic events last week in Texas, The Foundation noted it is also still accepting funds to help with the devastation caused by Harvey, working with the Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation to disburse funds to many of the thousands of credit union employees and volunteers affected.
“Late last week, we surpassed over $1 million in contributions for both CUAid and Cornerstone efforts to help credit union people put their life back together after Tropical Storm Harvey,” said Foundation communications director Christopher Morris in a statement. “According to the latest reports, up to 15,000 credit union employees are in Hurricane Irma’s path. Having two large-scale disaster relief campaigns open simultaneously is unprecedented, therefore please know that any and all donations to CUAid will make a profound difference to your credit union colleagues in need.”
The Foundation further said that as donations are posted through CUAid.coop for Hurricane Irma relief, it will coordinate with the Southeastern Credit Union Foundation in the disaster area to distribute money efficiently to affected credit union employees and volunteers.
Meanwhile, the Credit Union National Association and Cornerstone announced that in response to Hurricane Harvey, they have launched an online community through which credit unions and system friends can connect and help each other when natural disasters strike.
Through the community, organizations nationwide can post available services and resources, which will be matched to needs identified by affected credit unions. The community also includes a discussion board to share ideas, experiences and stories.
“The past two weeks have provided me with re-invigorated hope in mankind and in our credit union system despite some incredibly dark and difficult times in Southeast Texas,” said Cornerstone president and CEO Caroline Willard in a statement. “But we know that this is not a crisis that will dissipate overnight or in the coming days. Recovery for this area of our region will last years and the effects of the hurricane and the ensuing flood waters will last a very long time.”
CUNA’s president and CEO Jim Nussle chipped in: "Credit unions are better together, as our collective efforts and financial support have shown in recent days. We are here to help bring needed resources to credit unions in Texas and Florida, and have a system in place to help other credit unions in the future."
