WESTconsin Makes $30,000 Donation to Domestic Abuse Organizations

WESTERN WI— Soon organizations across western Wisconsin will be receiving funds totaling $30,000 from WESTconsin Credit Union to help support victims of domestic abuse. The impacts of COVID-19 have affected people in many ways, and unfortunately the pandemic has resulted in an increase in intimate partner violence due to lockdowns and the stress of worsening socioeconomic conditions.

Each of the following organizations will receive $6,000:

• Bolton Refuge House | Eau Claire, WI
• Bridge to Hope | Menomonie, WI
• Embrace | Ladysmith, WI
• Family Support Center | Chippewa Falls, WI
• Turningpoint For Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence | River Falls, WI

“While we recognize financial health is important, we recognize there are people in our community who are struggling with the basic need of feeling safe and comfortable in their home,” Stephanie Rasmussen, Chief Experience Officer, shares. “At WESTconsin, we made a promise to give back to our neighbors and communities and are so honored to be able to support those who are hurting.” People Helping People is the founding philosophy of credit unions and has withstood the test of time for over 150 years. WESTconsin will be dispersing payments in the next few days to quickly provide support.    

"People are literally at home with their abusers and not only is it people being at home with their abusers,” Jeni H. of the Family Support Center in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls told WEAQ News earlier this year. “But with the current economic strain there is another added layer of people feeling they need to stay in unsafe situations.” For support or resources about domestic abuse, please contact the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org.

WESTconsin Credit Union has been serving members since 1939, and membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the Wisconsin counties of Barron, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau, and Washburn, or the Minnesota counties of Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Goodhue, Isanti, Pine, Ramsey, Wabasha, and Washington, with a $5 minimum deposit in a Membership Savings Account. Credit unions are financial institutions owned by their accountholders, and member funds are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to at least $250,000.