LVIV, Ukraine–Amid blaring air raid sirens, a credit union CEO and the former president of the World Council of Credit Unions have returned safely to Poland after helping to personally deliver to a children’s hospital here an ambulance that was funded by credit unions and individuals in the United States. And all in response to the damage caused by the person that same CEO calls "the devil."
Bruce Foulke, president of American Heritage FCU, and Brian Branch, the former leader of WOCCU, made the trip as part of an initiative launched in March of this year by the two men and Sue Mitchell, president of Mitchell Stankovic Associates. The effort led to the creation of the Polish American Credit Union Support Fund, which is a credit union-to-credit union effort to assist CUs in Poland, which have been playing an instrumental role in helping refugees from Ukraine who have flooded into the country following the war launched by Russia.
During their first trip to Poland in March Foulke said it was clear there was significant needs in many areas, and that included ambulances to bring people and children injured by Russian shelling to Poland for treatment.
Foulke, who spoke to CUToday.info one day after crossing back over the border into Poland after having been in Ukraine, is due to return to the United States today.
From left, Bruce Foulke, Brian Branch, and Dr. Dmytro Kvit , Director of Hospital.
Driving to the Border
Foulke said he and Branch left at 4 a.m. on Wednesday while in Poland to pick up an ambulance in Krakow and to then drive it to the border. There, they met a driver who had been assigned to them by a group that oversees such efforts, and the driver drove the four hours to the border, where they had to wait two hours to cross. From there, the group drove to the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Lviv, in western Ukraine.
Foulke said they were greeted by the hospital director and head of pediatrics, along with local dignitaries. The ambulance was packed with medical supplies, including two duffel bags worth that Foulke had brought from the U.S.
The arrival at the hospital was just the latest step in extensive efforts Foulke and others have been involved in since Russia’s invasion in February.
The Passion
Asked why he has been so passionate and involved, Foulke said, “The main reason I did it is I was upset with the war and it seemed like we weren’t supporting the credit unions in the country,” he said by phone from Poland.
As CUToday.info reported earlier, in March Foulke and Branch travelled to Lublin, Poland, about 100 miles from the border, to meet with Polish officials, including Rafal Matusiak, president of & CEO of Poland’s trade association, the National Association of Credit and Savings Unions. Out of that meeting came an assessment of needs by Poland’s CUs as they worked to help Ukrainians, and the creation of the Polish American Credit Union Support Fund.
Matusiak himself travelled to the United States earlier this week to both say thank you and continue the fundraising during Mitchell Stankovic’s Underground Collision meeting in Las Vegas, as CUToday.info reported here. During that meeting tens of thousands of dollars were raised, with one company committing to purchasing an ambulance, which costs more than $25,000.
Huge Operation
While in Lublin, Foulke and Branch also saw first-hand a huge distribution center at which more than 400 people were volunteering their time. Foulke noted that during a meeting with Poland’s secretary of state that when he asked what American CUs might do, and was told the country needed weapons. When he responded that that wasn’t something credit unions could really provide, the government official than said, ‘I need 500 ambulances’.”
“I said right away, ‘I will get you two’,” Foulke said.
“I went home and I called all my friends and I said, ‘We have to do something and we will make sure every penny goes to this’,” Foulke said.
According to Matusiak, less than $100 has gone to date to administrating the Support Fund.
Ambulance delivered to hospital.
The phone calls, Foulke said, have led to more than $300,000 being raised and the purchase of five ambulances to date.
Refurbished Cargo Vans
The ambulances, Foulke explained, are used cargo vans that are repainted and refurbished, with medical equipment installed inside. “I got a really, really good price,” he said of the vehicles.
Foulke said he had been told by sources in Poland that there was great need at the children’s hospital in Lviv for ambulances, and that children have died as a result of the lack of transport. He noted American Heritage FCU’s field of membership includes Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and that a foundation created by the CU has donated more than $3 million for a music therapy program at the hospital over the past quarter-century.
A Personal Connection
“That’s why I wanted to deliver this ambulance personally,” Foulke said. “Brian (Branch) has always been willing to do crazy stuff with me and help people. If it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have had the connections on how to find these people.”
Not surprisingly, the trip to Ukraine wasn’t without its dangers, especially with Russia’s new wave of drone strikes.
“Yesterday, we heard the air raid sirens just as we opened the doors to the ambulance,” he said. “But I didn’t see anyone running. It happens all day long. Seven sirens went off while we were there. It took us four hours-plus to get to the border going home.”
Foulke said he saw damage from drone strikes in Lviv and provided CUToday.info with one video of the damage he witnessed.
‘They Don’t Know How Serious It Is’
“I’m really happy I did it. I think word needs to get out that there is more work to do and there is a need to raise more money,” Foulke said. “I don’t see enough people doing enough stuff. They don’t know how serious it is. Brian, Rafal and I have seen some serious stuff.”
Why does he continue to put in the time and effort?
“I believe in helping people. I’m a volunteer firefighter It’s in my blood,” Foulke answered. “My mother and father, neither of whom graduated from high school, always said, ‘You have to do good.’ I have to help people. I can’t drive by an accident without helping.”
Foulke said one thing he did notice while in Poland is that people aren’t as afraid as they were earlier this year.
“You could see the fear in people’s eyes in Poland. I didn’t see that this time around. People have become immune to it. There are fewer refugees coming now and some people are even going back. There is this ebb and flow,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe the people, they are so brave.”
100% Committed
Foulke added that the credit unions and citizens of Poland are “100% committed” and understand “this is a life and death situation.”
Hospital director is interviewed by media upon arrival of ambulance.
He said efforts to meet with some Ukrainian CUs while in the country were not successful. He noted many are still operating, even if it requires limited hours. The fate of those in western Ukraine remains unknown.
As CUToday.info reports separately, the World Council of Credit Unions said recent strikes by Russia have hit the homes of CU employees and members.
Foulke said his credit union has even donated $5,000 to buy what are known as “safe cars,” older model vehicles that are purchased and painted in camouflage and then used to ferry soldiers to and from the front.
The vehicles don’t usually last long, he said, as they are often blown up by the Russians.
The ‘Devil’
Foulke said he is hopeful Americans will not develop war fatigue and lose their interest.
“I have not given up and am still raising money,” he said. “I don’t hear it as much now, which is sad. I am hoping it doesn’t let up. People don’t understand. This will wreck everyone’s lives as it is now. People are being killed, inflation is up, it’s affecting the supply chain. (Vladimir) Putin is the devil.”
Below is a screen shot from a video shared by Bruce Foulke with CUToday.info that shows damage from Russian strikes on a power plant in Lviv, Ukraine.
