UW Credit Union Awards $20,000 Grant to The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness

Madison, WI – June 15, 2020 – UW Credit Union is pleased to announce it is giving a $20,000 grant to The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, the umbrella organization for the new, first-ever Black Women’s Wellness Center in Dane County that opened in Madison earlier this year.

The grant comes from The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, which last week announced a COVID-19 Relief Fund for nonprofits. Each FHLB member, including UW Credit Union, was allocated $20,000.

The grant will go to the Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund for Black Women and Families. This fund distributes one-time, immediate mini grants for eviction prevention and emergency assistance for basic family needs including food, medication, housing and utility costs, transportation and childcare assistance. The Foundation also provides coordinated case management and resource referrals in addition to healthcare and mental health navigation.

“The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black women and families has compounded existing inequities in our community, resulting not only in alarming health consequences, but in widespread economic destabilization,” says Lisa Peyton-Caire Founder and CEO for the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. “As Black women and their families absorb the shock of layoffs, furloughs and of frontline work as essential employees with inadequate childcare, these funds are critical to help them fill immediate needs as they work to survive and weather this crisis.”

The Foundation received funding from A Fund for Women and United Way of Dane County totaling $30,000, putting them $20,000 away from their $50,000 Relief Fund goal. The additional funding from FHLB allows UW Credit Union to close that gap completely.

“We are excited about this opportunity to join the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness in providing relief to the most impacted families in Dane County,” says Sheila Milton, Director of Cultural Competency and Inclusion at UW Credit Union.

Established in 2012, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness works to eliminate health disparities and other barriers impacting Black women in Dane County and across Wisconsin. Each year, they reach, engage and support thousands of women and girls through in-person and virtual health promotion, education and advocacy efforts to improve Black women’s health. Learn more about their work at www.ffbww.org.

Photo by Hedi Rudd from Hedi LaMarr Photography.