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MED FCU supports medical community with 4,500 donated protective masks

BISMARCK, ND (May 8, 2020) — It was fairly early into the pandemic crisis, April 5th, 2020. Watching the evening news, Pam Brown-Graff saw a segment featuring the dire need for protective masks for medical caregivers in the Rapid City, South Dakota area. Immediately, the credit union CEO felt compelled to move to action, combining the resources of the credit union with the heart and volunteer spirit of the members to help the community that the credit union serves.

At 10:00 p.m. that same evening, the credit union posted on their Facebook page that MED5 Federal Credit Union (MED5) would be donating up to $2,000 for materials for crafters willing to make masks for the medical community. By 10:30 the next morning, the credit union already had 10 people responding, all volunteering to sew the much-needed masks. Within 24 hours, the number of volunteers doubled, with 20 crafters shifting into high gear. In addition, the credit union co-partnered with another Black Hills area organization – makeSPACE (Spearfish Partnership for Arts, Cycling, and Equity) that was distributing fabric and patterns to the community. On behalf of MED5’s efforts, makeSPACE donated enough materials for 1,500 masks.

Enter Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union, an organization that supports credit union success and bands together their members with the power of cooperation. By providing an additional grant to MED5 so their volunteers could continue the sewing projects, to date the credit union has funded more than $6,000 for supplies and delivered more than 4,500 masks to Monument Health(the local hospital), in addition to numerous medical clinics, nursing homes, assisted living homes, the blood bank, Black Hills Surgical Hospital, and food banks.

“When we started out, we had a goal of providing $2,000 for mask materials, but we have far exceeded that, and we’re still going,” stated Pam Brown-Graff, President/CEO of MED5. She continues, “This has been one of the largest community-based donation projects MED5 has ever been a part of – and one of the most rewarding. Hopefully, MED5 has helped to protect the lives of many, especially the most vulnerable, and helped to make a difference. For as long as our sewers want to sew, we will continue to fund this project,” she concluded.


About Credit Union Association of the Dakotas

The Credit Union Association of the Dakotas (CUAD) is the professional financial trade association serving 71 credit unions that employ 2,200 individuals in 221 branches. With more than 500,000 members in North and South Dakota, Dakota credit unions have assets in excess of $7.6 billion and currently are providing Dakota consumers with over $5.2 billion in loans while safely housing more than $6.6 billion in savings. In our mission to help credit unions succeed, CUAD plays a key role in growing membership and helping to provide service excellence to members from offices in Bismarck, ND and Sioux Falls, SD. For more information about CUAD visit our website at www.cuad.coop.

The Credit Union Foundation of the Dakotas’ purpose is to build community awareness of Dakota credit unions through support of children’s charities; community and social impact organizations or projects; financial education and financial literacy programs through the credit union chapter system; and to provide higher education scholarships throughout our service region in North and South Dakota.

About MED5 Federal Credit Union

MED5 Federal Credit Union is a community-based credit union located in Rapid City, South Dakota. Established in 1966, the credit union has grown to nearly $80M in assets and has over 6,000 members.

Contacts

Shawn Marie Brummer
Communications& Media Specialist
1-800-279-6328, ext. 966 or 701/220-2200
sbrummer@cuad.coop

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