FAIRHOPE, Ala.–A truck full of supplies assembled by CU*South has distributed much-needed supplies in New Orleans, where many credit unions remain without power more than a week after Hurricane Ida struck.
According to the CUSO, the message from credit unions has been, “We need water, ice, food, gas, generators and cash.”
The latter need is the result of the cash-only markets that develop following disasters when both electricity, the Internet and ATMs are all down.
CU*South, which is located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay in Alabama, was able to secure a number of generators, which have been sold out in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Among the credit unions to which it has delivered supplies is New Orleans Firemen’s FCU (NOFFCU), where three days after Ida made landfall six of its nine branches remained closed and 50 of 100 employees could not return to their homes.
CU First Responders
“The credit union knew they had over 26,000 members to serve, and with an employee-to-member ratio of 1:260, each employee they could bring back meant more first-responders and families would be served,” CU*South said.
As NOFFCU Chief Administrative & Development Officer Armand Parvazi stated in a request to the company, “Our employees are in desperate need of essentials including water, food, generators, gasoline, etc. We are working quickly to help our employees and members. Are there any resources CU*SOUTH can offer at this time to help our team? Anything and everything will be appreciated.”
The Supplies
In addition to water, ice, food, fuel and generators, CU*South has also delivered:
- Inflatable mattresses for employees planning to sleep at the CU
- Camping stoves
- Toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, and plastic utensils
- Soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes
- Laundry detergent, bleach, and other cleaning supplies. (Many sewers remain in operable due to the lack of power)
- Ziploc bags (for the food that can be saved) and trash bags (for the food that can’t)
Organizations Providing Support
CU*SOUTH said that within 12 hours of putting out a request for support, it secured more than $23,000 in pledges from nine credit unions, four partner CUSOs, and an industry marketing partner. Those include:
- ANECA FCU (Shreveport, La.)
- RVA Financial FCU (Richmond, Va.)
- MyPensacola FCU (Pensacola, Fla.)
- MUNA FCU (Meridian, Miss.)
- Calhoun-Liberty Employees CU (Blountstown, Fla.)
- Commodore Perry FCU (Oak Harbor, Ohio)
- Pinnacle CU (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Michigan Legacy CU (Wyandotte, Mich.)
- CU*Answers (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
- Corporate America CU (Irondale, Ala.)
- eDOC Innovations (Middlebury, Vt.)
- RekindleGoBig (Penn.)
- Xtend (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
- The BA Group (Northfield, Minn.)
CU*SOUTH employees pitched in, as well with over $5,000 of employee and CUSO-matched funds pledged to the relief project, it reported.
So Grateful
NOFFCU CEO Judy Delucca personally supervised the distribution of the supplies.
“We are so grateful for this generous support,” Delucca said. “This means so much to our people, especially those who aren’t expecting power to be restored until the end of the month. With so many of our branches damaged, we are looking at options to bring pop-up branches to our fire stations. Wherever our members are working to restore communities, that’s where we need to be.”