MADISON, Wis.—More than $100,000 in donations have been made to the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Project Storm Break fund in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, which hit the Bahamas especially hard. The new donations bring the total amount donated to more than $200,000, the Foundation reported.
“That is twice the amount of money the Worldwide Foundation set as its original goal for the fund, which was designed to allow credit unions to access immediate assistance in aftermath of a natural disaster,” the Foundation said.
By coincidence, the Foundation announced Project Storm Break during the World Credit Union Conference in the Bahamas in July.
‘Remarkable’ Response
“It is remarkable how credit unions across the globe have responded in the wake of Hurricane Dorian to help our colleagues in The Bahamas recover and rebuild. This is what the credit union movement is all about—people helping people,” said Mike Reuter, Executive Director of the Worldwide Foundation, the charitable fundraising arm the World Council of Credit Unions, in a statement.
The Worldwide Foundation and the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions sent an initial disbursement of funds to The Bahamas Cooperative League Ltd. in early September. The Bahamas Cooperative League used that money to provide supplies and cash to impacted credit unions on the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.
As CUToday.info has reported, most recently here, credit unions and their members in the country have been devastated.
List Being Compiled
World Council said it is now compiling a list of infrastructure needs the impacted credit unions must address in order to rebuild.
“We have been able to help a number of these credit unions provide immediate assistance to their members and have identified what the affected credit unions need to get on the road to a full recovery,” said Brian Branch, WOCCU’s president and CEO. “World Council continues to work with our partners at The Bahamas Cooperative League and the Caribbean Confederation to address those needs and assist in the rebuilding effort.”
Donations can be made on the Project Storm Break page.