Rapid City area CUs donate over 7,800 bottles of water to Pine Ridge Reservation
BISMARCK, ND (April 3, 2019) — Flooding has been taking a devastating toll for the past several weeks on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, an area served by Lakota Federal Credit Union. With a large geographical range, this reservation is home to almost 20,000 people, with half living at or below the poverty level.
The flooding issues were compounded last week when there was a water main break, leaving many in the community without drinkable water. After learning about the problems the community was facing, Credit Union Association of the Dakotas President/CEO Jeff Olson contacted Shayna Ferguson, Manager of Lakota FCU to ask what could be done to help.
“It has been pretty hectic here,” said Ferguson. “A large portion of our reservation was without running water for six days, and many still do not have clean drinking water,” she told Olson. Ferguson also explained that the credit union had purchased the last available pallet of water from their closest Sam’s Club, and offered the supplies for free to those in the community who needed it, but their supply was depleted. That was when Olson reached out to other Rapid City area credit unions, asking for assistance.
Five credit unions sprang into action, in a real-life demonstration of cooperative principles. On Thursday, March 28, Black Hills FCU staff and Northern Hills FCU staff delivered over 3,000 bottles of water to Lakota FCU. On Friday, March 29, Sentinel FCU, Med5 FCU and Highmark FCU formed a caravan of vehicles carrying more water, and delivered an additional 4,800 bottles of water.
In a real-life demonstration of credit union cooperative principles, more than 7,800 bottles of much-needed drinking water were delivered to Lakota FCU, which began distributing the water from their office in Kyle. Lakota FCU staff also ventured out into more remote communities via the “Rolling Rez” bus to deliver fresh drinking water to anyone in need in the areas of Wounded Knee, Red Shirt, North Route, and Sharps Corner, among others.
Olson is thrilled with the fast response of these Rapid City area credit unions. “These efforts are truly an example of the credit union difference,” he stated. “This is what credit unions do every day. Collaboration among cooperatives is one of our driving principles, and so is commitment to our communities. The assistance that each of these credit unions provided to Lakota FCU is a clear demonstration of that. We applaud the terrific efforts that our credit union family provided to their neighbors in this time of need,” he added.
“The response has been overwhelming,” added Ferguson. “We are so grateful to the association and for the credit unions that stepped up to help at this time. It makes me proud to be a part of the cooperative movement.”
If you would like to make a contribution to help Lakota FCU at this time, please submit to:
Lakota FCU
Attn: Shayna, Flood Assistance Fund
PO Box 196
Kyle, SD 57752-0196
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.
