Traci Donahue, center, poses with a group of friends from the Cross Valley Credit Union, who recently decorated veterans’ graves with flags at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hanover Township.
Leaders in the movement to help veterans through the National Credit Union Coalition for America’s Heroes include Greg Cook, chairman of the advisory board; Traci Donahue, Chief Governance, Director of Board Relations and Advisory Board Secretary; founder Katherine Pratt and executive director Travis Daniels.
As she reflected recently on some of her experiences with veterans, Traci Donahue recalled a young Marine who remarked, “Nobody told me how hard it would be to get a job.”
She remembered another veteran who needed a loan for home repairs, but “no bank would touch him” because he didn’t have a credit history.
At least that veteran had a home. Some experience homelessness, like the veteran of Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan who shared a tale of suffering “the pain of a predatory rental market” and landlords who “have routinely forced evictions” when he speaks out.
Donahue, who is president and CEO of the Cross Valley Federal Credit Union, with a main office on Baltimore Drive, Wilkes-Barre, wants to help these veterans and any others who might need help.
She recently became the advisory board secretary for the National Credit Union Coalition for America’s Heroes and, representing that group, has visited American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts to tell veterans the coalition is there to help.
“Some of them don’t know half of the things they’re eligible for,” Donahue said.
Donahue believes the coalition’s efforts to help veterans by arranging loans, mentoring them, and/or teaching them how to build credit and reduce debt may help prevent veteran suicides because she believes financial stress can be a contributing factor to that tragic outcome.
She knows the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2023, for example, the rate of suicide among male veterans was 37.8 per 100,000. For female veterans, it was 13.9 per 100,000.
Among the general population, the suicide rate is much lower — 22.2 per 100,000 men and 5.6 per 100,000 women.
“We want to help veterans thrive before a crisis happens,” Donahue said.
The coalition, established in June 2025 by founder and CEO Katherine Pratt of Ohio, lists among its goals:
• Build a national network of trusted, not-for-profit credit unions dedicated to serving veterans, service members, military families and survivors.
• Improve financial stability as a critical component of overall wellness.
• Connect military-connected individuals with affordable financial products, education, housing resources, entrepreneurship support and trusted community partners.
• Reduce barriers that contribute to financial hardship, housing instability and long-term life challenges.
• Promote the credit union philosophy of People Helping People.
And, while the financial help of arranging loans or teaching budgeting skills may come naturally to credit union administrators, Donahue said the coalition is also happy to help veterans find such resources as mental health and crisis intervention, VA enrollment and VA disability claim assistance.
More information about the National Credit Union Coalition for America’s Heroes is available at ncucah.org. For confidential crisis support 24/7, the coalition urges veterans to contact a Crisis Line by dialing 988, then pressing 1.
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