Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union Donated $1,500 to Kids in Disability Sports
January 11, 2017
We share a passion for our members and community: that’s our common thread.
LOWELL – Just after the New Year rang in, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union closed out the last Give-A-Click campaign of 2016 with Kids in Disability Sports, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) as the latest winner. K.I.D.S. received a $1,500 donation from the Credit Union’s We Share A Common Thread Foundation.
Kids in Disability Sports, Inc. works to provide social, therapeutic and recreational opportunities to individuals living with a variety of disabilities. Their long list of sports programs include baseball, basketball, bowling, flag football, horseback riding, yoga and more. They also hold special events including dances, outings, annual awards banquets and visits to college and professional sporting events, such as Red Sox and Lowell Spinners games. The organization strives to instill confidence, a healthy lifestyle, values and teamwork in program participants.
“K.I.D.S. is a volunteer-based program, which means we rely on community support to make our programs run successfully,” said Denise Mercier, member of the Board of Directors and Secretary of Kids in Disability Sports, Inc.
The organization, which serves 80-100 individuals, ages six and over, created email blasts and Facebook posts to spread the news about their participation in Give-A-Click and to encourage votes from their supporters.
The Give-A-Click campaign runs every quarter on the Credit Union’s We Share a Common Thread Foundation website. Community members visit the site to learn about worthy non-profit organizations and vote for their favorite one. The charity with the most votes is awarded a $1,500 donation from the Foundation. New charities are posted every quarter and people of the community, Jeanne D’Arc members, employees and the organizations’ supporters are asked to visit WeShareACommonThread.org to help their favorite nonprofits gain a much-needed donation.
“It’s very important that the community knows about us to keep things going,” said Bob Majeau, member of the Board of Directors and Athletic Director of Kids in Disability Sports, Inc.
Mercier and Majeau shared a story of a mother and son duo both enrolled in the program. Although mom is in a wheelchair as a result of Cerebral Palsy, she recently skied down Mt. Sunapee through K.I.D.S.’ partnership with New England Handicap Sportsman. Donations, such as the one from Give-A-Click, help K.I.D.S. continue these activities that bring joy to so many people. That joy, Majeau said, is why they do what they do.
“We are thrilled to have Kids in Disability Sports as the latest winner of Give-A-Click. They provide such wonderful programs to individuals with disabilities and their families, and we are so proud to support their mission,” said Mark S. Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union.
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union was also honored to feature Hope Dove Inc. and Family Promise of Greater Nashua at Anne-Marie House as nominees in the fourth quarter campaign.
The first contest of 2017 kicked off on January 1st with the following organizations vying for the next donation: Marguerite’s Place, The Front Door Agency, Inc., and Nashua Children’s Home.
Photo cutline: Kids in Disability Sports, Inc. is the latest winner of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Give-A-Click campaign. Mark S. Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Credit Union (second from left) presented (from left) Walter McGrail, Denise Mercier and Bob Majeau with a $1,500 donation.
About Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union:
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union was established in 1912 and is a full-service, member-owned community-based financial cooperative with more than 77,000 members and $1.2 billion in assets. It operates eight full-service branches in Lowell, Dracut (2), Tyngsboro, Chelmsford, Methuen and Westford, Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire; high-school branches at Lowell High and Dracut High schools; a loan center in Lowell and two mortgage centers in Chelmsford and North Reading.