CREDIT UNIONS DONATE $1.2 MILLION TO
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. NATIONAL MEMORIAL

(Washington, DC, March 7, 2008) - On March 4, it was announced in Washington, DC that credit unions from California to Maine and from Washington to Florida have donated $1.2 million to the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. The African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) was honored for spearheading the national fundraising effort.

General Colin Powell; Harry E. Johnson, Sr, President and CEO of the Memorial Foundation; Barbara Stephens, Chair of the AACUC; and Hubert Hoosman, President of Vantage Credit Union in St. Louis, MO participated in the announcement.

"AACUC is proud to have spearheaded the credit unions in supporting the efforts to build a memorial in honor of Dr. King on the National Mall," said Stephens. "I especially want to thank Hubert Hoosman of the AACUC board for birthing this idea and we are proud to be part of this historic effort."

"I applaud the tremendous time and effort that the African American Credit Union Coalition and numerous credit unions placed in raising funds for this lasting national memorial to the ideals of hope, democracy, peace, and love for which Dr. King stood" said Johnson. "Now is the time for all citizens to help make history by making a donation of any amount by visiting www.buildthedream.org or calling 888 4 THE DREAM."

The Memorial Foundation has raised $93 million to date. The following major donors have contributed to the Memorial: General Motors, Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, NBA/WNBA, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, Coca-Cola Foundation, The Ford Motor Fund, Toyota, AARP, AFLAC, BP America, Inc., CIGNA, DuPont, ExxonMobil Foundation, Fannie Mae Corporation, FedEx Corporation, GE, Ann and Joel Horowitz Family Foundation, Sheila C. Johnson-Newman, Lehman Brothers, George Lucas, MacFarlane Partners, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, McDonald's Corporation, MetLife Foundation, National Association of Realtors (NAR), National Education Association (NEA), PepsiCo Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Pfizer Foundation, Prudential Financial, Inc., Shell Oil Company, State Farm Insurance, Verizon Foundation, Viacom, Wal-Mart and Morehouse College, among others. A Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr will be built on the National Mall, situated adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a Memorial honoring Dr. King to be built in Washington, DC. The Ceremonial Groundbreaking took place on November 13, 2006 and the Memorial is scheduled to be completed in 2009. McKissack & McKissack / Turner Construction Company/ Gilford Corporation / Tompkins Builders, Inc. Joint Venture will serve as the Design-Build Team. McKissack & McKissack is the oldest minority-owned architectural firm in the United States. For more information, please visit www.buildthedream.org.

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