40,000 Facemasks Donated by National Credit Union Federation of Korea Headed to Hundreds of Credit Unions Worldwide
World Council is distributing the personal protective equipment to fight the spread of COVID-19
September 08, 2020
MADISON, Wis.—40,000 thousand facemasks donated to World Council of Credit Unions by the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) are heading to more than 30 countries to protect credit union employees and members from COVID-19.
NACUFOK President and CEO Younsik Kim, who serves as Chair of the WOCCU COVID-19 Response Committee, led the effort to purchase the facemasks and get them to World Council for distribution.
“I feel a huge responsibility to do what I can to help during this global crisis. I will do my best to help the global credit union movement overcome COVID-19,” said Kim.
World Council President and CEO Brian Branch consulted with partners across the world to identify those credit unions still in dire need of personal protective equipment. He then worked with Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ staff to repackage the facemasks for shipment.
Project Storm Break, the Worldwide Foundation’s disaster relief program, aided in covering the cost of shipping the masks to more than 30 national and regional credit union associations across five continents. Those associations will ensure the masks get to the individual credit unions in need.
“There is no greater challenge facing our global credit union community in 2020 than the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Branch. “One of the inspiring things about being part of the global credit union system is that when a crisis happens, credit union systems around the world instinctively step up to assist those affected.”
Helping credit unions throughout the pandemic
Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March, World Council has worked to help credit unions across the globe connect to resources and best practices through the COVID-19 Resource Page on woccu.org, and through virtual meetings and webinars.
World Council launched in August its COVID-19 Response Committee to support national credit union systems and credit unions globally through the crisis and the economic repercussions that follow. The Committee will do that by identifying best practices and sharing resources all credit unions can utilize in response to the pandemic.
A bimonthly series of webinars will complement that effort—with our regional and national members assisting us in finding speakers and presenters who can provide important and interesting content for credit union professionals.
The first COVID-19 Response Committee webinar, scheduled for September 17, will include presentations on:
- The current status of COVID-19 and a global perspective on the outlook of the pandemic, by Dongil Ahn, Visiting Professor, Yeonsei University Graduate School of Public Health, and former WHO representative in Cambodia and Lao PDR; and
- Present and future international work related to the virus, by Goosoon Kwon, Professor of Global Development Cooperation at Seoul Cyber University.
You can register for the September 17 webinar by following this link.
World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development platform for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 82,758 credit unions in 97 countries serve 404 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
E-mail: gneumann@woccu.org
Phone: +1 608-395-2048
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