Photo: Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Member Service Center and other Credit Union employees recently donated 50 care packages to support the clients of the Lowell Transitional Living Center. (From left, Wilfred Junior, Program Advocate at the Lowell Transitional Living Center; Karoline Oliveira, Member Service Representative at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; Kiomarie Ocasio, Member Service Center Specialist at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; and Bridget Anderson, Case Manager at the Lowell Transitional Living Center.

LOWELL, MA – Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s Member Service Center team, along with members from the Collections team, recently joined forces to assemble 50 care packages for the clients of the Lowell Transitional Living Center. Each bag was filled with socks, lotion, hats, gloves, hand warmers, thermal blankets, toothbrushes, hot chocolate and more.

The Credit Union’s Member Service Center Specialist, Kiomarie Ocasio, came up with the idea earlier this year. This is the second round of donations the team has put together. The group calls this initiative “The Sharing Hand”.

“Our group is really big on giving back. Once the idea was mentioned, it didn’t take much to have everyone donate,” said Ocasio. “I hope that others can see this act of kindness and do a little more, especially with the holidays and cold weather coming up,” she added.

“It’s great to see our employees work together to help our community members in need,” said Mark S. Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. “Community outreach and social responsibility is such an important part of our organization, and ‘The Sharing Hand’ initiative is a wonderful example of how our employees truly embrace this,” he added.

Ocasio and Member Service Representative, Karoline Oliveira, delivered the bags to the Lowell Transitional Living Center on November 17th.

“Donations like these show our clients that the community has compassion for the situation they’re in at this time,” said Case Manager, Bridget Anderson. “It lifts their spirits during the holidays,” she added.

Ocasio says the team is looking forward to making “The Sharing Hand” a yearly initiative to benefit the clients of the Lowell Transitional Living Center.

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.