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 $8.9 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

Coming soon...


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.