About Us

Credit Unions Kids at Heart® (CU Kids at Heart) is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and one of the largest collaborative fundraising programs in the nation for the credit union community. Eastern Corporate Federal Credit Union (EasCorp) of Burlington, Massachusetts, founded CU Kids at Heart in 1996 with a small group of Massachusetts credit unions. Today, the organization includes dozens of participating credit unions and corporate sponsors nationwide. Our aim is to leverage the collective impact of credit union charitable efforts and to reflect of the industry's belief in collaboration in service of a greater good.

Our mission is simple: we are dedicated to helping children lead healthy and happy lives.The organization and its supporters are committed to funding research activities aimed at the prevention, treatment, and/or cure of pediatric neurological diseases, including Moyamoya disease, Cerebral Palsy, pediatric epilepsy and other seizure disorders, and pediatric brain cancer. We work closely with the medical investigators at Boston Children's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and their research affiliates, to provide financial stability to these often underfunded research areas. Our contributions have directly made possible clinical trials, new diagnostic tools, treatment breakthroughs and promising drug therapies, and much more. Since its founding, CU Kids at Heart has raised over $9 million toward these fundraising directives.

News

Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day

We are delighted to announce that on December 20, 2022, after nine years of advocacy by the CU Kids at Heart team and with the tireless support of State Representative Tram Nguyen, Governor Charles Baker signed Massachusetts House Bill 3211 into law, designating May 6 as Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day in the Commonwealth. This is a significant win for those living with this rare disease and their families, for the medical community seeking a cure, and for the CU Kids at Heart family. Read more about our advocacy efforts.

Moyamoya is a rare neurological disease in which the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain narrow, greatly reducing blood flow and putting the child at risk for stroke. This is a progressive disease and blood vessels will continue to narrow over time. Studies show that a patient with Moyamoya has a 66-90% chance of having a stroke within 5 years of diagnosis. These strokes can be severe- causing long term effects including cognitive and sensory impairments, communication disorders, visual disturbances, behavioral problems-or even fatal.

Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to reduce the risk of stroke. On May 6, 2023, help us raise awareness of Moyamoya disease and stop the strokes! Wear blue to show your support and print out this fact sheet provided by Boston Children's Hospital to learn more.

Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day Activities

Friday, May 5, 2023

  • Workplace Observances: Credit Unions Kids at Heart Participating Credit Unions and Sponsors will recognize the day with their employees, members and customers in various ways, including, but not limited to, fundraising challenges, wearing blue clothing, sharing educational resources, and more.

  • Digital Billboard: The IBEW Local 103 union will recognize Moyamoya Day from Friday, May 5 through Saturday, May 6 on the digital billboard at their headquarters on Freeport Street in Dorchester. The billboard faces the well-trafficked interstate 93.

  • Lighting of the Prudential Tower: Boston’s tallest standing building, the Prudential Tower, will be lit in blue to raise awareness of Moyamoya Disease.

  • Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU): DCU will recognize Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day on the digital billboard at the DCU Center on Foster Street in Worcester throughout the weekend. The credit union will also post on their Facebook page.

  • Merrimack Valley Credit Union: Included an article in their newsletter and on their website about CU Kids at Heart’s research and Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day initiatives.

Saturday, May 6, 2023

  • Annual Boston Children’s Hospital Moyamoya Disease Symposium: Held virtually, this conference will feature international experts from Boston Children’s Hospital (Massachusetts, US), The Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, CA), and Great Ormond Street Hospital (London, UK). Sessions cover a range of topics from genetics to treatments, risk to outcomes. Learn more and register on Eventbrite or Facebook.

  • 98.5 The Sports Hub Radio Spots: Longtime Credit Unions Kids at Heart media partner 98.5 The Sports Hub will run public awareness campaign spots all day. During the last New England Patriots football season, Credit Unions Kids at Heart partnered with the station and with wide receiver Jakobi Meyers for its First Downs to Fight Moyamoya Disease initiative. For every first down by New England's offense, Credit Unions Kids at Heart donated toward promising Moyamoya studies conducted at Boston Children’s Hospital.

  • Bridge Lighting: With the support of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, four bridges in Massachusetts will be bathed in blue light starting 45 minutes before sundown and ending at sunrise the following morning.

    • Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Boston

    • Longfellow Bridge, Boston and Cambridge

    • Fore River Bridge, Weymouth and Quincy

    • Kenneth F. Burns Bridge, Worcester

  • Boston Children’s Hospital Lights Up in Blue: The main entrance of Boston Children’s Hospital at 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, will light up in blue and signs of support will greet the medical teams, patients, and their families in the Moyamoya Program facilities on the 6th floor.

  • Observances in the City of Springfield: Mayor Domenic Sarno has declared (see proclamation) May 6 Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day in the City of Springfield. He has authorized that the Campanile Clock Tower, one of the city’s most visible landmarks, be lit in blue this weekend. The city’s Union Station and Union Station parking garage will also be lit in blue on Saturday.

  • City of Worcester’s Polar Park: Polar Park will recognize Moyamoya Disease Awareness Day during Saturday’s Worcester Red Sox-(WooSox) game.

The CJ Buckley Memorial Fund

In 2019, CU Kids at Heart established the CJ Buckley Memorial Fund for Pediatric Brain Cancer Research to support the groundbreaking work of the Panigrahy Lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Dipak Panigrahy, principal research investigator, and his team study the impact of inflammation on cancer in the hope of stopping the growth of cancerous cells. The fund honors Carter J. Buckley, a young man who passed away in 2002 from brain cancer. Learn more about the research developments in his memory.