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National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 25 – 31

Chairman Johnson Announces Hurricane Preparedness Information Available on Homepage of MyMoney.Gov website

May 22, 2008, Alexandria, Va - In recognition of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 25, 2008 to May 31, 2008, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson announced that a National Hurricane Center link, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml, providing consumers with information pertaining to safe money management in the event of a natural disaster and emergency, is now featured on the “What’s New” section of the main page of the MyMoney.gov website.  

“This educational resource not only contains useful and important financial information, it could also actually save lives.  As Chairman of the MyMoney.gov website, I am committed to making certain that consumers have ready access to timely, relevant and practical tools they can use in real life situations, and this addition is in keeping with that philosophy.  Furthermore, I encourage the credit union community to continue playing an active role in equipping Americans with the information they need to protect their families and finances in the event of hurricanes and other natural disasters,” said Chairman JoAnn Johnson.

NCUA has also made efforts to strengthen its readiness in the event of a hurricane.  Since 2005, NCUA has encouraged credit unions to participate in the U.S. Treasury's GoDirect initiative, a direct deposit initiative that will help ensure members have quick, safe access to their funds.  In addition, the Agency has engaged in specific staff training to ensure adequate preparation in the event of a disaster .

To learn more about NCUA’s hurricane recovery information for credit unions and credit union members please visit http://www.ncua.gov/Hurricane/.

Chairman Johnson was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the www.mymoney.gov website subcommittee in 2006, by the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), which is headed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.  The MyMoney.gov web site was created to provide public access to financial education tools which will empower Americans to save, invest, and manage money wisely to meet personal goals.

The National Credit Union Administration charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the accounts of nearly 87 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions. NCUA is funded by credit unions, not tax dollars.