Future Credit Union Members
Receive Wildfire Grants From CU Aid
More than $200,000 in aid still available for victims of recent California wildfires
While the devastating wildfires that scorched Southern California were still burning last fall, credit union employees, volunteers and members opened their pocketbooks to raise nearly $220,000 to help credit union members who might be affected. Recently, the first grants from CU Aid—the centralized disaster relief fund-raising system activated during the fires by the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and the California Credit Union League—were completed in the San Diego area, one of the hardest hit by the disaster.
First Future Credit Union members Daniel and September Katje, and Sue Miller both sustained extensive damage during the recent fires. They received grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to help begin their rebuilding efforts. The checks were presented by NCUF Chairman Mary Cunningham.
“This is unbelievable!” said September Katje of the CU Aid grant program, which was made possible by donations to the NCUF Disaster Relief Fund through www.cuaid.coop/california. She found out soon after the fires that she was pregnant with the couple’s third child. “This (disaster relief) will definitely help in getting on with our lives.”
The Katje family, who lived in a mobile home in Fallbrook, CA, recalled taking a bag of clothes for each family member, with just a few photos and videos once they received the word to evacuate. They thought they would soon return to their home. But, their home was one of hundreds in the area completely destroyed. “There was nothing left,” Daniel Katje recalled. “Everything was completely melted. There was nothing left to save. It was very shocking.”
First Future Credit Union member Shirleen (Sue) Miller, who lives in the border town of Campo, suffered damage to all her kitchen appliances as well as her computers.
Miller was emotional upon hearing the size of her grant at the check presentation, held February 22nd at First Future Credit Union’s Sorrento branch. “I’m tremendously thankful for this,” she said tearfully. “This will help me get things together, buy new appliances, and repair my roof. I’m still stunned.”
Miller recalled being two hours away when she heard the Harris fire was close to her house.
The firestorm had peeled off the roof of her barn and torn three of her sheds apart. But her house was still standing and the animals were safe. With the help of friends, she evacuated them all. She returned to a house in which a blown transformer nearby had destroyed all her kitchen appliances, her two computers, and purifiers as well as burned the wall of her kitchen.
Miller is grateful for all the help she’s received from vendors and First Future Credit Union. “(First Future) has been so fantastic, allowing me to defer payments” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done.”
Thanks to the generosity of CU Aid donors, more than $200,000 in grant dollars are still available for credit union employees, volunteers, and members who suffered losses from the California wildfires. Applications are available at www.cuaid.coop/california.
Pictured Left to Right: First Future CU CEO Marla Shepard; NCUF Chairman Mary Cunningham; CU Aid grant recipients September and Daniel Katje with their daughters; and California CU League Director of Public Relations Henry Kertman.
CU Aid grant recipient Shirleen (Sue) Miller is overcome with emotion during the check presentation by NCUF Chairman Mary Cunningham.
