The National Credit Union Foundation has activated the online disaster relief system CUAid.coop in order to raise money for credit union members and employees in Louisiana who were affected by recent flooding.
Anyone interested in heling can make donations at cuaid.coop.
As donations are posted through CUAid.coop, the Foundation will coordinate with the Louisiana Credit Union Foundation to distribute money efficiently to affected credit union employees and members.
CUAid, the Foundation said in a statement, is the only program of its kind that enables credit union employees, volunteers and members, as well as credit unions and credit union organizations across the U.S., to contribute directly to support other members of CU community.
"Louisiana has been severely affected by the recent floods in our state and could use your help," said Connie Major, EVP and chief financial officer of the Louisiana Credit Union League (LCUL) in a statement. "It’s been called the ‘great flood of 2016’ and it came so fast that many credit union people didn’t have enough time to even consider evacuating."
Major also said that, aside from the numerous members affected by the rising waters, "we’ve heard from credit union CEOs and staff that have lost everything."
"We cannot determine the full impact just yet as people are still being airlifted from their homes via helicopters," she added.
Several CUs Closed Indefinitely
Separately, the LCUL posted on its website that the following local credit unions are currently closed with no immediate information on when they will open:
- Ascension CU ($57-million in assets, based in Gonzales, La.)
- Baton Rouge Fire Department FCU ($48-million; Baton Rouge)
- Baton Rouge Telco FCU ($281-million; Baton Rouge)
- Bayou FCU ($71-million; Baton Rouge)
- BRECO FCU (($48-million; Baton Rouge)
- EFCU Financial ($344-million; Baton Rouge)
- Maple FCU ($30-million, Lafayette, La.)
- Neighbors FCU ($753--million; Baton Rouge)
- Shell Geismar FCU ($28-million, Gonzales, La.)
Various other credit unions in the region are partially closed, LCUL noted, including.
- Campus Federal CU ($558-million, Baron Rouge): all Baton Rouge locations closed but will re-open Tuesday.
- Eagle FCU ($106-million, Baton Rouge): all locations are closed, but will re-open on Tuesday.
- Jefferson Financial CU ($400-million, Metairie, La,.): branches in Denham Springs, Livingston, and Baton Rouge are closed.
- La Capitol FCU ($477-million, Baton Rouge): branches in Siegen Lane, O’Neal, Florida Blvd. and Hammond are closed, but the branch on Main Street is open.
- Lafayette Schools CU ($198-million, Lafayette): the Crowley branch is closed.
- LES FCU ($32-million, Lafayette): the main branch is closed, while the Airline branch is drive-thru only.
- Louisiana FCU ($211-million, La Place, La.): the Hammond branch is drive-thru only
- Pelican State CU ($273-million, Baton Rouge), the branches in Denham Springs, Mid City (Baton Rouge), Zachary and Jackson are closed.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has said at least 20,000 people have been rescued from the floodwaters in the state, while more than 12,000 stayed in shelters Sunday night.
On Monday morning, the governor’s website stated: "Our state is currently experiencing a historic flooding event that is breaking every record. This event is ongoing, it is not over. Even if the sun has come out in your area, we do not know when the floodwaters will recede, and they will continue to rise in some areas."
