Rapid City, SD - May 13, 2020 -It was fairly early into the pandemic crisis, April 5th, 2020. Watching the evening news, Pam Brown-Graff saw a segment featuring the dire need for protective masks for medical care givers in the Rapid City, South Dakota area. Immediately, the credit union CEO felt compelled to move to action, combining the resources of the credit union with the heart and volunteer spirit of the members to help the community that the credit union serves.

At 10:00 p.m. that same evening, the credit union posted on their Facebook page that MED5 Federal Credit Union (MED5) would be donating up to $2,000 for materials for crafters willing to make masks for the medical community. By 10:30 the next morning, the credit union already had 10 people responding, all volunteering to sew the much-needed masks. Within 24 hours, the number of volunteers doubled, with 20 crafters shifting into high gear. In addition, the credit union co-partnered with another Black Hills area organization – makeSPACE (Spearfish Partnership for Arts, Cycling, and Equity) that was distributing fabric and patterns to the community. On behalf of MED5’s efforts, makeSPACE donated enough materials for 1,500 masks.

Enter Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union, an organization that supports credit union success and bands together their members with the power of cooperation. By providing an additional grant to MED5 so their volunteers could continue the sewing projects, to date the credit union has funded more than $6,000 for supplies and delivered more than 4,500 masks to Monument Health (the local hospital), in addition to numerous medical clinics, nursing homes, assisted living homes, the blood bank, Black Hills Surgical Hospital, and food banks.

“When we started out, we had a goal of providing $2,000 for mask materials, but we have far exceeded that, and we’re still going,” stated Pam Brown-Graff, President/CEO of MED5. She continues, “This has been one of the largest community-based donation projects MED5 has ever been a part of – and one of the most rewarding. Hopefully, MED5 has helped to protect the lives of many, especially the most vulnerable, and helped to make a difference. For as long as our sewers want to sew, we will continue to fund this project,” she concluded.