As the Carolinas recover from Hurricane Florence, the credit union community has stepped up its efforts to provide funds for disaster relief.
As of Wednesday morning, the National Credit Union Foundation’s CUAid program had received $27,000 from across the credit union movement, according to Brian Griffith, director of marketing and communications at the foundation.
CUAid is an online disaster-relief system organized by the National Credit Union Foundation.
“We have received other expressions of interest and pledges of support which we will update as funds are received in our Madison office,” Griffith added. “We are also working closely with the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation to determine the extent of the need for the credit unions and the credit union people affected by the storm and the ongoing floods.”
On top of that CO-OP Financial Services on Wednesday announced a $10,000 donation to CUAid to help credit unions and their members in the Carolinas as they work to recover from Hurricane Florence.
“Hurricane Florence reminds us that natural disasters can come upon us with amazing speed,” stated CO-OP President and CEO Todd Clark. “We have been proactively contacting clients in the impacted areas to assess needs and determine where we can help. The donated funds on behalf of our client credit unions is one expression of that outreach, in addition to our vast network of branches and ATMs, ensuring access to accounts for those displaced by the flooding.”
Closer to home, Raleigh, N.C.-based State Employees’ Credit Union announced that its member-funded SECU Foundation would provide a $1 million grant to Feeding the Carolinas (formerly known as the NC Association of Feeding America Food Banks) to support the food banks that directly serve residents in “areas where emergency assistance is greatly needed, helping to provide water, food, cleaning supplies, and other essentials.”
Cynthia Jolly, board chair for the SECU Foundation, noted that many in the region already had firsthand experience with the impact of a major storm after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
“We know that food and supplies are needed quickly, which is why SECU Foundation has reacted immediately with funding to assist Feeding the Carolinas with delivering essential items to those hard-hit areas,” said Jolly.
Mike Darrow, executive director of Feeding the Carolinas, said this $1 million grant will make a “significant impact in our food banks’ efforts to provide badly needed food and supplies to our friends and neighbors in North Carolina that have been affected by Florence.”
Mike Lord, president and CEO of State Employees’ Credit Union, cautioned that there are still “many challenges ahead for our fellow citizens and our members and we are here to help.”
As previously reported, South Carolina-based SAFE Federal Credit Union collected $18,000 in advance of the storm by selling emergency lanterns that had already been purchased for another event.
