MALVERNE, Penn.–Jay Mossman, CEO of the CUSO AKUVO, is challenging other CUSOs to help raise $100,000 to help Ukrainian refugees.
Mossman said he was inspired to take action recently after hearing remarks by Rafal Matusiak, president of Poland’s credit union association and CEO of Via Stella Foundation, which was created to assist Poland’s CUs as they help refugees who have left neighboring Ukraine.
During an Underground Collision event sponsored by Mitchell Stankovic, Matusiak described how leaders worked together to build a path to safety for millions of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, primarily women and children. Mossman has personally donated approximately $40,000 over the last six months to purchase an ambulance and medical equipment for these refugees, including an ambulance used to evacuate ill and injured women from the Zaporizhzhia conflict zone where the embattled nuclear power plant is located.
Challenge Issued
Mossman asked Mitchell Stankovic and the Underground to issue a challenge to his colleagues running CUSOs for 10 of them to make donations of $10,000 each to Via Stella Foundation, supporting the Polish credit union movement’s front lines work to respond to the war’s humanitarian crisis.
“The CUSO business model is dependent upon access to members and when credit unions work together to solve issues, it is a market differentiator,” Mossman said. “There are no CUSOs without credit union members. Fintechs and other competitors want access to our members, but we have their trust when we embody the motto ‘people helping people.’ I challenge my CUSO colleagues to be humanitarians and support credit union response in Poland.”
Credit Unions ‘Respond’
Added Susan Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell Stankovic and Associates, “CUSOs and credit unions have been moved by Rafal Matusiak’s appeal. I am proud to share that since we first featured the Russian war on Ukraine and how Polish credit unions are responding in March of 2022, more than $200,000 has been raised from our Underground community. These donations go directly to Via Stella Foundation to fight back and give a path of safety for refugees.”
Those who have made donations include Origence, which made a $25,000 donation; Redwood CU, which donated $50,000, and Kinecta Credit Union, which donated over $100,000 since the invasion by Russia, and other Underground participants like Eagle Community, Santa Cruz Community, and Unitus have contributed.
Individual donations have also come from Underground attendees who purchased pictures from Ukrainian and American children, which were auctioned at the Underground Collision held in conjunction with Money 20/20.
“Dr. (Brian) Branch, chair of Via Stella Foundation says it best, ‘When others rush out from conflict, credit unions rush in.’ I urge you to respond to Jay Mossman’s challenge,” said Mitchell.
How to Make a Contribution
Funding contributions can be made via wire instructions on the Via Stella Foundation: https://www.viastella.pl/, while credit card contributions can be made via the PayPal portal on the same Via Stella website: https://www.viastella.pl/
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