LOWELL – Clean River Project typically works to pull out debris and trash from the Merrimack River, but for the last few months, the non-profit organization has worked to pull in votes to help them win Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Give-A-Click Program.

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, learn about three worthy non-profit organizations, and cast their vote for the one they would like to support. The organization with the most votes at the end of the quarter is awarded a $1,500 donation from the Foundation.

“It’s very exciting that we won,” said Rocky Morrison, Founder and President of Clean River Project. “If we didn’t have the support from local businesses to carry us, we wouldn’t be here today,” he added.

Clean River Project is based out of Methuen, MA, and is dedicated to improving the water quality in the Merrimack River and other local water sources through prevention and community education. The organization develops community-based projects and programs to remove items, such as cars, tires, furniture, plastic, trash and other debris, that impact our drinking water. To date, Clean River Project has removed 81 cars from the Merrimack River.   

“The Merrimack River is such an important part of our community and our history,” said Mark S. Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. “Clean River Project has certainly shown their tremendous passion and commitment to protecting the River and the people living in our local neighborhoods. We are proud to name them our Give-A-Click winner.”

Clean River Project began in 2005 when Mr. Morrison, an avid boater on the Merrimack River, sought to take action and remove the trash and debris that was damaging the River environment. He and his wife organized a scavenger hunt where fellow boaters earned points based on the types of items they were able to collect. Since then, Mr. Morrison has transformed his fun, eye-opening event, into a full-fledged organization completely devoted to making the Merrimack River and other local waterways safer, cleaner and well-respected.

To reel in votes for the Give-A-Click campaign, Mr. Morrison and his team worked tirelessly to promote their participation on their Facebook page and on their website. They also called people directly and encouraged as many of their supporters as they could to vote for their organization. Ultimately, their efforts were successful.

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union was also honored to feature Nashua Pal and Roudenbush Community Center as nominees in the third quarter Give-A-Click campaign, which proved to be a very tight race.

The fourth quarter contest kicked off on October 1st  with the following organizations vying for the next donation: Nevins Family of Services, Recreational Adult Resource Association (RARA) and Hidden Battles.

Voting is now open at WeShareACommonThread.org, and all community members are encouraged to visit the website to cast their vote.

Photo: Clean River Project is the winner of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s third quarter Give-A-Click campaign. Rocky Morrison, Founder and President (middle) stands in front of the water he works to protect with a fishbowl filled with some of the debris he and his team collected from the Merrimack River and other local water sources. Michelle Silveira, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Jeanne D’Arc (left), presented Morrison and Jean Marion, Clean River Project board member (right), with a $1,500 donation as their winning prize.

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 80,000 members and $1.3 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, Dracut High and Nashua High School South; a loan center in Lowell and mortgage centers in Chelmsford and North Reading.