SPC CU Foundation's First Gift Supports Victims of Helene

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, communities across the Carolinas and beyond rallied together to provide relief efforts for victims of the deadly storm. As word--and pictures--of the damage spread, businesses, church groups, friends, civic organizations, and others took responsibility for providing aid to strangers, family, and friends living in upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina.

For leaders in many organizations, the question was not “if” but “how” to help. SPC Credit Union’s leadership team was no exception.

Swift action from Linda Weatherford, SPC’s President/CEO, set a plan in motion to send $5,000 in monetary aid to the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation. SPC Credit Union is a proud member of the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation (CCUF), an organization that has fostered collaborative opportunities to enrich communities across the Carolinas for more than three decades. For the past several months, Weatherford and Lauren Whaley, the CCUF’s President/CEO, have been laser-focused on the development of another local foundation within the CCUF umbrella: the SPC Cares Foundation.

Though Weatherford and the SPC team planned to officially launch the SPC Cares Foundation in the new year, the opportunity to support Hurricane Helene victims with funding from the SPC Cares Foundation was too glaring to pass up. Weatherford says of the Foundation’s earlybird gift: “The need across the Carolinas was greater than our schedule to launch the SPC Cares Foundation. Partnering with the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation as the first act of our Foundation was a perfect launch and exemplifies our mission of impacting local communities for good. This contribution was a small part of the work the CCUF is doing to provide for the immediate needs of our fellow employees and volunteers across the Carolinas. To date, they have processed more than 600 applications totaling upwards of $600,000. We are proud to be a part of an amazing family of credit unions who support each other in our greatest need.”

As a CCUF Board Member, Weatherford knew firsthand that the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation already had the infrastructure in place to provide disaster relief support, which reassured her and the SPC CU team that they were directing funding into capable hands. The CCUF website states that “Through the years, the Foundation has worked with the National Credit Union Foundation, state and local government officials, and credit unions in reaching those in need during times of disaster. Nearly $3 million has been awarded in disaster relief grants since the Foundation’s disaster fund was established following the September 11, 2001 attacks.” The Foundation is supporting credit union employees and volunteers who have been affected by Hurricane Helene by providing grant assistance for immediate needs including food, temporary shelter, housing, gas, transportation, insurance deductibles, lodging costs due to temporary displacement, relocation costs due to evacuation mandates, and personal property losses incurred that were not reimbursed by insurance.

Individuals and credit unions wishing to contribute to the CCUF’s disaster relief support can make a donation online at https://carolinasfoundation.org/disaster-relief-support/ or send a check to the address below. Credit union employees and volunteers seeking to receive support will find an online grant application at https://carolinasfoundation.org/disaster-relief-grant-application/.

Carolinas Credit Union Foundation
Attention: Disaster Relief
PO Box 1787
Columbia, SC 29202