How CUs, Vendors & Leagues Are Helping

The Texas CU League reported that since establishing the first hurricane hotline on Sept. 9, TCUL's Hurricane Response Workgroup has answered 1,119 calls with a total talk time of 26 hours and 16 minutes. In addition, the league said, the volume of calls received by the TCUL operators group to the league's normal toll-free number has risen dramatically since TCUL implemented its hurricane relief efforts, with operators answering nearly 4,000 calls between Sept. 1 and Oct. 5. TCUL's Hurricane Rita Infoline has been accessed nearly 3,000 times since its inception in its first week. In addition, staff from Dupont Beaumont/Goodrich Community FCU, which set up a call center at the league's Dallas office Sept. 27, has answered 4,155 calls...Southwest Corporate FCU (Dallas) and the National CU Foundation each contributed lead gifts of $50,000 for the Foundation's Hurricane Rita Disaster Relief Fund. Joining Southwest Corporate with major gifts of $25,000 each were Houston Texas Firefighters FCU, Randolph Brooks FCU (Universal City), Security Service FCU (San Antonio) and Shell FCU (Deer Park). The league also reported that Arlington FCU, Beacon FCU (La Porte), County & Municipal EFCU (Edinburg), Dupont Beaumont FCU, First Central CU (Waco), Harlingen Area Teachers CU, IBM Texas EFCU (Austin), JSC FCU (Houston), Lubrizol ECU (Deer Park), and the RC Morgan Chapter contributed more than $243,000 in just over a week. Community Financial CU, Plymouth, Mich., matched employee donations for Hurricane Katrina. Victims and donated more than $14,000...Lockheed Georgia EFCU donated $10,000 for relief and provided bottled water to displaced refugees in the Atlanta area...The California Credit Union League, its employees, member credit unions, and system affiliates have contributed $72,771...Sunmark FCU in Schenectady, N.Y. has raised more than $20,000 for relief...InterContinental Warranty Services made an initial $1,000 donation to Members In Action, which is aimed at credit unions in the greater New Orleans area...St. Mary's Bank in Manchester, N.H. donated $500 to Mount Saint Mary Academy to match funds the students raised at a car wash to help victims of Hurricane Katrina...Alabama based Redstone FCU donated a trailer to Docks & Terminal CU in Mobile...SunEast CU members donated $11,720...MECU of Baltimore held its first annual Charity Cup Golf Tournament for Katrina victims, raising $29,000 for the NCUF fund with another $10,000 donated on Oct. 7...Apple FCU in Fairfax, Va. is collecting school supplies for children affected by this year's hurricane strikes. Apple FCU has also donated more than $10,000 for the American Red Cross...Security Service FCU in San Antonio donated a 2005 15-passenger van to the local Red Cross chapter to transport people and supplies during relief missions in addition to a large donation of $75,000...Langley FCU branches held bake sales to raise funds for hurricane relief...Cornerstone Community FCU is serving as a collection site for Katrina funds...Community Financial CU in Plymouth, Mich. matched donations and raised more than $14,000 in cash from members and employees...Credit unions in Ontario, Canada have donated more than $140,000 to the Canadian Red Cross next week for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, which will be sent to the American Red Cross...Philadelphia FCU employees contributed $1,750 to Catholic Charities USA's Katrina Relief NOW effort, which was matched by the board for a total of $3,500...Employees at Sunwest FCU in Phoenix collected $2,532 for relief efforts...SELCO Community CU in Eugene, Ore. collected $55,530 and also supported lending director Jim Mau's Red Cross training and three-week stint helping victims... Northwest Corporate FCU and CU Business Group donated $10,000 for hurricane relief...SEFCU is matching the first $10,000 in local donations...Members 1st FCU donated $20,000 to the Pennsylvania CU Foundation...In Dubuque, Iowa, Dupaco Community CU joined forces with a local radio station and movie theater to sponsor a Halloween benefit movie with 92-cent admission for everyone. The funds went to Katrina relief...EECU of Fort Worth hosted Community Resource CU's data tapes after Hurricane Rita hit in Baytown, Texas...Corporate One in Columbus, Ohio donated $14,000 for ongoing relief efforts...Truliant FCU came to the aid of Roberta Brown, a single mother who had relocated to Greensboro, N.C., by donating a 1999 Ford Windstar van for her use...Altura CU in Riverside, Calif. held a blood drive and received 67 pints of blood...First CU in Chandler, Ariz. donated a 2000 Suzuki Vitara and a $100 gas card to a family who fled New Orleans during Katrina...Community Financial donated $16,000 for hurricane relief...Fairwinds CU in Orlando, Fla. made a $25,000 donation to the Florida CU Foundation's Katrina Relief Fund...St. Louis Community CU donated new furniture to Katrina evacuees who relocated in the area...Minnco CU in Minnesota came to the aid of a couple in their 80s after they moved to the area to be around family. Officials contacted their Mississippi bank and arranged transfers and the closing of their accounts...South Carolina FCU collected more than $19,000 donated by members, local residents and school children...Dover FCU in Delaware collected more than $8,000 for hurricane relief. The funds will be split between the Air Force Aid Society and the NCUF.