Drew Wilson
Florida’s largest credit union says help is on the way.
Suncoast Credit Union announced Tuesday that it will donate a combined $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts focusing on health care, education and feeding Floridians.
The Tampa-based credit union said its decision was informed by its own experience as an essential service provider over the past several weeks.
Employees have continued coming to work — with distancing measures — and their interactions with customers gave Suncoast both a window to assess the problems brought by the new coronavirus and the will to help solve them.
“While we are focused on supporting our members financially, we feel a moral obligation to support other basic needs during this very challenging time. We admire and are inspired by other charitable organizations who are providing relief through private donations like ours,” Suncoast Credit Union President & CEO Kevin Johnson said.
“People are struggling through no fault of their own and because of the support of our Board of Directors, Suncoast is committed to doing what we can to address these serious needs.”
Suncoast executives reviewed options and selected recipients based on need, viability and sustainability and with consideration to the credit union’s core values. Organizations will be notified of specific donations beginning this week.
Suncoast Credit Union donates to several causes through its affiliated nonprofit, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. Since 1990, it has donated $29 million — including $3.5 million last year — to children’s causes in the communities it serves.
The coronavirus relief commitment, however, is the credit union’s largest single charitable endeavor since it was founded in 1934.
Suncoast Credit Union operates 71 full-service branches and serves more than 884,000 members across 39 Florida counties, including all of the Tampa Bay area and east coast counties from Nassau in the north to Monroe in the south.
