CU Leaders Heading on Humanitarian Trip for Ukrainian Refugees
American Heritage CU CEO Bruce Foulke and retired WOCCU CEO Brian Branch will meet with Ukrainian and Polish CU executives.
Bruce K. Foulke, president/CEO of the $3.9 billion American Heritage Credit Union in Philadelphia, and Dr. Brian Branch, retired president/CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions, will be embarking on a humanitarian trip next week to deliver first aid supplies and everyday necessities for Ukrainian refugees.
They also plan to meet with credit union leaders from Poland and Ukraine.
“The events unfolding in Eastern Europe are devastating and horrific,” Foulke said in a prepared statement on Friday. “Our credit union family includes many associates, members and community partners who are Ukrainian natives or of Ukrainian descent, and American Heritage has a long history of stepping up when our global or local community needs our assistance.”
American Heritage’s associates are collecting goods to be donated to the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, which will deliver items such as diapers, baby formula, food, first aid supplies and non-perishable food to Ukrainian refugees.
“Credit unions have served as the lifeblood of the Ukrainian economy since the country’s independence, and right now they desperately need both our prayers as well as our financial support,” Foulke said. “Dr. Branch and I are working with credit union movement partners in Eastern Europe to ensure that they have the supplies, systems and support so that they can help rebuild the Ukrainian economy as soon as it is viable to do so.”
Foulke and Branch will be providing counsel and aid to their fellow credit union colleagues in Eastern Europe so that they can resume operations as soon as possible and offer much-needed economic assistance to their members. They will be meeting with representatives of the National Association of Co-operative Savings and Credit Unions, Poland. The organization represents Polish credit unions, which serve over 2.5 million citizens.
During his tenure, Branch developed credit union policies and lending programs to stabilize local economies during the 2014 crisis when Russian troops seized Ukraine’s autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Donbas War in eastern Ukraine.
Foulke, who served on the WOCCU Board and the WOCCU Foundation from 2012 to 2017, participated in previous humanitarian trips to support credit unions in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.