Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union Awards $1,500 Donation to Sophie’s Hope Foundation

LOWELL, MA (May 29, 2024) – Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union is pleased to present Sophie’s Hope Foundation with a donation of $1,500 as the first quarter winner of the credit union’s Give-A-Click campaign.

The Give-A-Click program runs quarterly on the We Share a Common Thread Foundation website (WSACT.com). Community members visit the site, learn about the worthy non-profit nominees, and cast their votes for the organization they would like to support. The program with the most votes at the end of the quarter is awarded a $1,500 donation from the Foundation. The first-quarter nominees included Greater Lowell Youth Skating Association, Lowell Youth Leadership Program, and Sophie’s Hope Foundation.

Sophie’s Hope Foundation was founded by Jamas and Margo LaFreniere for their daughter, Sophie, who was diagnosed at the age of 2 with the rare genetic condition Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1b (GSD1b). Currently incurable and potentially life-threatening, the Foundation’s focus is threefold: drive research into GSD1b through funding, coordination, and collaboration; raise awareness; and support patients and caregivers.

Jamas LaFreniere, Co-Founder of Sophie’s Hope Foundation, said of the donation, “Sophie’s Hope Foundation thanks Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union for this awesome opportunity. Our foundation drives research for GSD1b, which gets no federal funding. We raise awareness and also build community, so the $1,500 will go toward our mission to continue building community and virtual support groups for caregivers and patients with GSD1b.” The $1,500 donation will help further the Foundation’s ultimate mission of discovering a cure for GSD1b.

“We are proud that a program like Give-A-Click can help make an impact with worthy organizations like Sophie’s Hope Foundation,” said Mark S. Cochran, President & Chief Executive Officer at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. “The Foundation supports such a noble and underfunded cause. We hope that these funds will bring them that much closer to finding a cure.”

Community members can now cast their vote for Jeanne D’Arc’s second quarter Give-A-Click nominees. The nominees for this quarter’s campaign are the Friends of Pollard Memorial Library, Home Health & Hospice Care, and The Methuen Memorial Music Hall.

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union was established in 1912 and is a full-service, community-based financial cooperative. Locally owned by 101,000 members with $2.1 billion in assets, Jeanne D’Arc 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 a mortgage center in Chelmsford. Follow Jeanne D’Arc on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.