People Helping People

I just came back from the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and African American Credit Union Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) conferences; these are two of the best conferences in the credit union movement. However, in this blog I am going to talk primarily about the AACUC and what I experienced during that conference. Before I begin I want to remind and tell others for the first time of the credit union movement's "social purpose". . The Credit Union National Association's (CUNA) website states that credit unions have the following "Social Purpose: Credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. Our goal is to serve all of our members well, including those of modest means - every member counts. Our members are fiercely loyal for this reason. They know their credit union will be there for them in bad times, as well as good. The same people-first philosophy causes credit unions and our employees to get involved in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes." (CUNA.ORG) In my opinion, this is the AACUC's approach to every challenge or situation put in front of them "PEOPLE FIRST".

"The AACUC was created to support programs that offer benefits for African-American and African descent credit union professionals and volunteers, credit unions, and credit union vendor partners. The goals and objectives include expanding the interest and increasing the numbers of minorities in the credit union movement; increasing outreach of the credit union movement in African countries and in the United States through credit union mentoring; providing scholarship programs and educational opportunities to credit union professionals and volunteers towards professional development and advancement; and most importantly enhancing internship and scholarship programs for African-American and African descent college students in pursuit of financial services careers to introduce them to and encourage them to seek employment within the credit union movement." (AACUC.ORG)

I can say there is follow-through with this statement from their website. I have greatly benefited from the support of the AACUC, by way of scholarships for Ivy League graduate education, mentorship, correction and encouragement. In my opinion, the AACUC exemplifies the credit union philosophy of "People Helping People"; in addition to helping individuals they are making an impact on a global level. Whether they are partnering with WOCCU, digging in to help other credit unions to continue to support their communities or helping someone like me progress in their career; the AACUC is constantly helping people.

The AACUC chose New Orleans to be the host city for this year's annual conference; almost six years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the Levies. I am glad that they did and I can say I saw firsthand that New Orleans is an amazing demonstration of "People Helping People". I was impressed with the people of New Orleans, despite what had occurred six years earlier there was still such a zeal for life and community. I am sure there are many others demonstrating the social purpose of "People helping People but there is one credit union that I want to talk about specifically because I had an opportunity to visit their shop and see firsthand the difference they are making in the community. Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Credit Union are poster organizations for "People Helping People". Hope Federal Credit Union was started in 1995 by a community church in Mississippi; like many not for profits, Hope fell upon difficult times a few years after their beginnings and reached out to the AACUC for their mentorship and expertise. The AACUC's Leaders answered the call and helped them to develop a plan to overcome their challenges; today, Hope Credit Union is one of the fastest growing credit unions and not only serves communities in Mississippi, but also Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana. Hope's expansion into Louisiana has become crucial because of the devastation that hit the gulf coast of Mississippi and New Orleans in August 2005. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Hope Credit Union was the only financial institution that opened immediately in Central City. Since, the devastation of the storm and the aftermath that followed, Hope Credit Union has played an integral part of the rebuilding of New Orleans, Mississippi Gulf Coast and other communities. Hope has created programs such as the following:

• Affordable Housing Programs to rebuild the areas devastated by Katrina
  
• Partnership with Goldman Sachs to bring back small businesses and bolster small business growth in New Orleans
  
• Foreclosure mitigation for areas impacted by Katrina and the downturn of the economy
  
• And the list goes on…
  

As I stated in the beginning of this blog, I attended the WOCCU Conference as well. There I heard how countries such as Africa, Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and many more were overcoming dire obstacles to bring services to their communities. In some areas of the world there are people literally risking their lives to ensure that members of their communities are provided financial literacy and are given give what we consider a basic right, a checking and savings account. Now, that I am back at my credit union in Seattle, I am so jazzed about all of the possibilities to help our members. Every community has their challenges but I can say that I probably won't end up needing a body guard because I want everyone to have a savings account, I can say we have resources and I we haven't been hit by a natural disaster in recent years. There are people all over this world making it happen for their members under all of those circumstances, so there are NO EXCUSES, help someone today. Personally and professionally, I am in the "People Helping People" business.





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Why I Walk for Lupus

In 1974, my mother was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). Lupus is an autoimmune disease characterized by acute and chronic inflammation of various tissues of the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. (medicinenet.com) The most common forms of lupus are discoid and SLE both forms occur more often in women than men; with the largest demographic of lupus patients being African-American women.



The moment my mom was diagnosed it turned our lives upside down. When my mother received her diagnosis; I was only five years old, my brother was 18 months and my sister was a newborn. A few months later we were sent to live with relatives because my mother was hospitalized for several months and unable to care for us; I believe we were sent to live with my mother's sister in Maryland, this was one of many times that we would have to leave our home due to my mom's illness. We were often on our own or split up amongst relatives whenever my mom would have a flare. I had to learn to be responsible and care for others at a very young age; being the oldest of the three children, responsibility was not much of an option.



You see, even when my mom was home, she was often not able to care for herself or us; due to affects of the disease and more often because of the side-effects from her prescribed medications. Lupus was not well known and there were not any drugs specifically to treat lupus; patients were left with drugs that had horrible side-effects, drugs such as prednisone (a steroid), plaquenil and sometimes even chemotherapy. The plaquenil caused severe nightmares, my mother would cry out nightly in her sleep. Imagine being a young child being woken most nights by this, and feeling like it was your responsibility to make sure everything was ok. The prednisone caused weight gain, extreme mood swings and finally heart damage. My mother passed away from a massive heart attack six months after her 50th birthday.



I do not regret the difficulty I had growing up; in fact I don't see how I could be the person I am today without the lessons of strength, perseverance and faith that I had to learn at age too young to do most things. :-) However, I would not wish that lack of a childhood on anyone. Lupus can slowly destroy a person's body and leave unforgettable emotional scars on their loved ones. I believe the journey I experienced as a child is so I can help others today; my hope is that no other lupus patient has to endure what my mother endured for 27 years of her life and no other little girl (or boy) has to carry the burdens of an adult as I did. 



There is good news today, as I stated before the only options for treatment were prednisone and drugs used to treat other diseases, but today after more than 50 years the FDA approved a drug specifically to treat lupus, Benlysta. This is definitely a step in the right direction for all lupus patients, and all the people who love and support them. While this is fabulous news, we have more to do. The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is at the forefront of research and services for lupus patients and their families, and there are walks called "Walk for Lupus Now" all over the country helping fund the LFA's efforts.

I walk for lupus in memory of my mother Gloria (Glo) Brown and my family members who are still battling lupus today. Join me by "Walking for Lupus Now", donating or by joining my fundraising team; it is easy, just click on the link below and look for Team "Glo". https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=470305&supId=324074019

Thank you for your support,

Toni

Reference Materials:
http://www.medicinenet.com/systemic_lupus/article.htm
http://www.lupuspnw.org
http://lupus.org


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Location:Seattle Area