HEW Federal Credit Union Provides a Tour and Gifts for New Orleans Evacuees from D.C. Armory9/19/2005
Washington, D.C. September 16, 2005 For a group of displaced New Orleans citizens, Thursday September 15th gave them a greater familiarity and deeper appreciation for the city which has become their temporary home-away-from-home. The staff of HEW Federal Credit Union (HEWFCU), with the help of numerous local businesses, provided a guided tour of Washington along with lunch for Louisiana evacuees living at the D.C. Armory. The full day tour, via coaches donated by New World Tours, provided stops at most of the city’s more popular sites – including the Frederick Douglass home, the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture, the Civil War Museum, the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, Haines Point, Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial as well as the Jefferson Memorial.
The group had a wonderful donated lunch at the landmark of U Street – Ben’s Chili Bowl, where they received a warm welcome and a hearty meal. The group met Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia outside the Capitol, whose staff was very helpful in coordinating the visit to Capitol Hill. At the end of the tour, the recently displaced New Orleans residents were given a gift bag and shirt from the Credit Union, tokens of their concern and caring for the group.
The entire tour began as a grass roots effort by a few of the HEWFCU staff. Several members of the HEWFCU staff were moved by recent news reports, and beyond donating money to the Salvation Army and collecting funds from the credit union members for Hurricane Katrina relief, wanted to do something special for some of the more than 150 recently displaced residents of New Orleans and the Gulf who are currently residing in the D.C. Armory. The small team of employees began making calls to make the Historic Tour of Washington a reality. Ann Garhart, Donnie James, Lisa Ferguson, Khalilah Long, and Brian O’Sullivan all played an influential role in planning and executing the tour of our Nation’s Capitol. HEW Federal Credit Union President and CEO Kathleen O. Geary was fully supportive of this special mission and felt the tour would show our new friends from the Gulf that her credit union supported and lives the credit union motto of “People helping people”. Every employee who accompanied the group was proud of being able to brighten the lives of their new friends, many who have lost everything they owned. “ If we can bring a little sunshine to the lives of these fine folks who were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, our lives are that much brighter”, reflected Ann Garhart, Director of Human Resources at HEW Federal Credit Union. Each employee felt the tour was both rewarding and uplifting and many made friends they plan to keep in touch with in the months to come.
The tour was covered by WUSA 9 television, Fox 5 television and WPGC radio and several of our friends from New Orleans were interviewed on the local news, with several stating they wanted to stay in Washington, D.C. We loved spending the day showing our new friends Washington, and we hope they enjoyed the day with us. As the group departed the bus to re-enter the Armory, the staff offered their thoughts and prayers and told them to call upon the Credit Union if they could help in any further way! To Stella, Melvin, Ferdinand, Herlin and all of our other friends from the land of Mardi Gras, we wish you the very best and hope we meet again.
HEW Federal Credit Union received its charter and commenced operation on May 26, 1936, just two years after the passage of the Federal Credit Union Act; and over the past seven decades of service, HEWFCU has consistently grown its membership and assets. Currently we have 20,000 members and over $121 million in assets. Based in Washington, D.C., HEWFCU has branches in Southwest Washington, D.C. as well as Falls Church, Virginia, Forestville, Maryland and two branches in Philadelphia. The Credit Union was granted the authority to serve all of Washington D.C. as an underserved area in October of 2003.
Contact Information
Brian T. O’Sullivan
Marketing Director
HEW Federal Credit Union
202-488-5400 x7067
[email protected]
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