CLEVELAND-- Credit unions joined with University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's, the 2016 Republican National Convention and RealClearPolitics to open a horticultural therapy suite in Angie's Rooftop Garden at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital here. The credit union-funded suite is a “leave-behind” project, a credit union tradition at the national political conventions every four years.
The new horticultural therapy suite is an enhancement of Angie's Rooftop Garden at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland. Angie's Rooftop Garden is part of the Angie Fowler Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Institute. New equipment and activity centers in the suite will help the staff at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital address the special needs of hospitalized children and their families. Volunteers created glass mosaic tiles that are now hung in the suite to commemorate the project.
A similar project is being done for the children's hospital in Philadelphia, host of the Democratic National Convention next week, where the Pennsylvania CU League is involved.
Janna Ryan, wife of House Speaker Paul Ryan, cut the ribbon with the help of UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital child patients and siblings Cordelia Willets, CC Willets and Constance Kammerer at the event.
"We're delighted to have been doing such meaningful, long lasting projects at the National Party Conventions since 2000," remarked Rich Meade, Chief of Staff and COO of CUNA. "It's an honor to be able to work with local credit unions, RealClearPolitics and the Republican National Convention on such a meaningful and lasting endeavor that will impact the lives of children and their families for years to come."
"This is a great opportunity to create an enduring example of how credit unions impact the lives of their members and their communities. With the help and support of many across the credit union movement, I'm proud that Ohio's credit unions will sprout a therapy retreat for the children throughout Ohio cared for at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital," said Paul Mercer, president/CEO of the Ohio Credit Union League.
The Ohio Credit Union League led the fundraising by the credit unions and raised more than their target goal of $300,000, the amount needed to cover the costs of the project.
Middle Class Forum Is Hosted
Separately, CUNA and RealClearPolitics hosted a forum that focused on the key issues affecting the middle class and the ways middle class voters will impact the 2016 presidential election during the GOP convetion. “Decoding 2016: The Middle Class Vote” featured prominent keynote speakers and panelists to discuss the topic in front of credit union members, members of the media and convention attendees.
“Credit unions represent over 100 million members – that’s one in three Americans,” said Richard Gose, chief political officer of CUNA. “Our over 6,000 member credit unions are inherently focused on the middle class and that’s why we’re here today. Any discussion on the middle class must include strengthening credit unions’ ability to serve middle class Americans. America’s Credit Unions couldn’t be more pleased to sponsor the thoughtful, engaging conversations that took place.”
The forum was part of CUNA’s “Strong Credit Unions. Strong Middle Class” initiative, the grassroots campaign it launched earlier this year, which focuses on educating all presidential candidates on the importance of credit unions and the benefits they provide to middle and lower-income individuals.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, kicked off the forum with Carl Cannon, Washington bureau chief of RealClearPolitics, in a one-on-one conversation focused on tax policy and the implications of the election on everyday Americans. Norquist discussed current and former tax policies put forth by Congress and the administration through the years, how tax rates impact all Americans and the hardships the middle class face today.
A lively panel discussion moderated by Cannon followed, featuring Alex Conant, partner at Firehouse Strategies; Josh Kraushaar, political editor at National Journal; and RealClearPolitics’ Sean Trende, senior elections analyst, and A.B. Stoddard, associate editor. The panel discussed a variety of topics including how to define the middle class, how middle class trends have changed over the years, how the presidential candidates are campaigning to the middle class and where the path to economic mobility is today. Panelists then took questions on how a Donald Trump presidency will affect the middle class and how much tax policy will influence voter choice.
Following the panel, a one-on-one conversation between Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) and Cannon closed the event with a focus on public policy’s impact on the middle class. Rep. Woodall discussed how current tax policy and other economic policy impacts middle class Americans