BOSTON — Credit unions remain "unsung corporate heroes," unable to effectively broadcast their story of pubic goodwill, the head of the country's oldest advocacy group for the homeless said last week.
"It's really phenomenal what credit unions have done in this state and I'm not sure why more of the public does not know it," declared Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, a grassroots advocacy group founded in 1981 and counting 700 faith communities in Massachusetts.
The coalition, which for nearly two decades has been the recipient of grants from the Massachusetts Credit Union League with a record $120,000 contributed in 2007, said Massachusetts CUs perform countless tasks to aid low-income people, including offering free tax assistance, feeding the hungry, and conducting book drives to bolster literacy among the young.
Recommended For You
League officials claim they work diligently at getting out the message to the mainstream press but it is difficult to get noticed, one of them said, "when you're in a market with large media outlets like The Boston Globe and you have Bank of America and Citizens Bank handing out multi-million dollar United Way grants."
Nonetheless, Frost argues that CUs–"for whom I have great respect"–stand far apart from other corporate givers including banks "in being consistent and so very generous with this agency."
Frost's laudatory remarks came as the $113 million Brotherhood CU of Lynn debuted the start of a special program, offering cash to hard-pressed homeowners hit by rising fuel oil bills.
Working with the coalition, Brotherhood said that during the month of February, it would be giving out $100 a day for 29 days to 29 deserving Lynn area families to ease their financial burden.
"To my knowledge we are the only credit union it the area doing this," said Adam Sherman, Brotherhood's Community Reinvestment Act officer. He noted that the CU had considered taking on loan assistance applications–the practice at some CUs–but decided Brotherhood could do better with outright grants under coalition auspices. Massachusetts state chartered credit unions are subject to state CRA regulation.
In accepting the Brotherhood offer, Frost noted that with the "skyrocketing cost of home heating fuel, many families are only one paycheck away from becoming homeless." Thus, the program qualifies as part of the coalition's "First Stop" project aimed at homeless prevention in Lynn.
"We know that many of our neighbors are struggling to stay warm during this winter," James Sherman, president/CEO of Brotherhood said in a formal statement in which he echoed Adam, his son. "We also know that many, without a helping hand, could be in jeopardy of becoming homeless and that homelessness not only means the loss of a place for someone to call home, but also holds ramifications for jobs, children's education, and community stability," said the elder Sherman. "Ensuring that households don't become homeless requires partnerships between non-profits and committed businesses," he added.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
