The 25,000-square-foot headquarters of the $406 million Security Credit Union sits across the street from the Flint River and about a half mile from the water treatment plant of the city of Flint, Mich. Over the last several months, this small, struggling industrial city has been the subject of national headlines due to high hazardous levels of lead in its water system.

While the Flint water crisis is a serious public health problem, particularly for children, Chad Merrihew, senior vice president and COO for Security, said the national media coverage has been somewhat sensationalized by some national media outlets.

Although the credit unions headquartered in the city of Flint and those cooperatives based just outside of Flint have not had water quality problems in their facilities, the cooperatives have organized efforts to help those that have been directly affected by the water crisis. What's more, credit unions across Michigan and outside the state have also chipped in to help.

“The latest statistics we have seen released from here in Flint is that 92% of the water tests completed in the city of Flint showed no lead, which is contrary to what some media sources would lead people to believe,” Merrihew explained.

Since Security began testing its water, every result showed that lead was not detected.

“I think it's an important story and there are definitely people in the city of Flint who are being impacted by having lead in their water, but I also think the media tried to portray it as a citywide and countywide problem versus isolated instances and the problem being in isolated areas,” he said.

Local, state and federal officials have been disputing the safety of Flint's water for more than a year after it became contaminated in April 2014.

The water crisis seemed to reach a turning point in September 2015, however, when a group of doctors from the Hurley Medical Center in Flint urged the city to stop using the Flint River for drinking water after finding high levels of lead in the blood of children. Under the age of six, children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.

By October 2015, the city of Flint urged its citizens not to drink the water, and the state ordered the distribution of filters, the testing of water in schools, and the expansion of water and blood testing.

Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech researcher who was one of the first to expose the city's water issue last year, said recently that virtually all of Flint should be considered a high-risk zone for lead in the water, according to an April 12, New York Times report.

Although Virginia Tech researchers said last week that new water tests showed a decline in the levels of lead contamination and that the water system is on a path to recovery, serious problems remain because hazardous lead particles could suddenly appear in drinking water, according to the New York Times article.

Merrihew said people are wary about using the water. He also noted Flint businesses have posted signs that their water was tested and is safe to use. Some businesses are even posting their water test results to assure their customers.

As the need for bottled water, water filters and water tests will continue, six credit unions in the local area that serve the city of Flint are donating $50,000 in gift cards to Flint city residents who are working with the state to monitor lead levels in the water in their homes.

In addition to Security, the donating credit unions were the $671 Dort Credit Union in Grand Blanc, Mich., the $458 million Financial Plus Credit Union in Flint Township, Mich., the $391 Flint Area Schools Employees Credit Union in Flint Township, the $438 million ELGA Credit Union in Burton, Mich., and the $179 million SAGELINK Credit Union in Durland, Mich.

The $32.2 million FM Financial Credit Union, headquartered in Flint, the $451 Team One Credit Union in Saginaw, Mich., and other businesses helped collect and distribute nearly 16,000 bottles of water for families and schools.

In addition, credit union executives, CEOs and other employees from the Michigan Credit Union League's Flint Chapter of Credit Unions formed a Water Crisis Task Force to determine how they can assist the Flint community.

“We are still evaluating our short- and long-term goals, identifying the greatest unmet needs and have asked the United Way to attend an upcoming April meeting,” Olga Long, senior vice president of Financial Plus, said. “They will provide excellent insight and assist us with identifying our next steps.”

The task force is made up of Flint Area Schools Employees FCU, SAGELINK, Security, Financial Plus, Dort and ELGA.

Long said some of her credit union's members have been affected by the water crisis, while Merrihew said none of his credit union's members or employees have reported any issues or problems.

The other credit unions that serve Flint residents are based outside of the city limits and serve other surrounding communities. The water crisis has not affected the townships around Flint because they get their water from Lake Huron via the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

“As a credit union founded in Flint more than 60 years ago, Financial Plus Credit Union is deeply saddened by the Flint water crisis and the impact it is having on children, families, the elderly and local businesses,” Long said. “We understand the seriousness of the crisis and realize the community will need support for many years to come. We are committed to being a part of the support and to being on the Flint Chapter of Credit Union's Flint Water Crisis Task Force.”

Even though she lives about 150 miles away from Flint, the water crisis touched Rebecca Williams in a personal way.

Williams, a branch assistant at the $430 million ECCU in Kalamazoo, Mich., has a friend who lives in Flint. Through Facebook postings, Williams learned that her friend's three-year-old daughter had been in and out of the hospital for a month with several infections and high fevers, and even had to have brain surgery.

“They said it was linked to the lead in the water,” Williams said. “That's what I know so far. It's awful.”

Williams, a mother herself, wanted to help.

“I didn't know how else to help the people of Flint other than donating clean water,” she said. After seeing how cheap bottled water was at a popular warehouse chain and catching a news story about a local company delivering clean water to Flint, Williams approached the credit union's Caring Committee to see if they could help.

Dipping into its annual fund, the Caring Committee purchased 100 cases of bottled water and employees loaded the cases on a truck that delivered the water to Flint.

“It makes me feel good to be able to help out in some way and to work for an organization that so willingly helps others,” she said.

Other Michigan credit unions, such as the $455 million Kellogg Community Federal Credit Union in Battle Creek, have worked with other businesses to provide clean water for Flint residents. Kellogg Community donated 7,600 bottles of water and collected additional clean water and donations from the community.

Other credit unions from outside of Michigan also chipped in. For example, the $220 million NuMark Credit Union in Joliet, Ill., collected 400 cases of bottled water and donated $500.