DONATIONS

First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union, Lehigh Valley, Pa., has raised over $1,000 in sponsorships for the March of Dimes. Fourteen enthusiastic employees and friends participated in the seven-mile walk to help save children from birth defects and infant deaths. This was the first time FCFCU particpated on a team level of sponsorship. The team averaged $144 per person per mile. FCFCU has $270 million in assets and serves 33,250 members. Affinity Federal Credit Union, Bedminster, N.J., employees have donated their time to participate as volunteers in the Special Olympics New Jersey 2001 Winter Games. These employees volunteered their time to act as personal escorts and assistants to those athletes competing in the games. Events were held at New Jersey’s Mountain Creek Ski Resort, Campgaw Mountain Ski Area and Mennen Sports Arena. Activities included Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing and Ice Skating. Affinity employees have been volunteering at The New Jersey Special Olympics Winter Games for the past 7 years. Established in 1968, the Special Olympics is an international program of year-round sports training that provides athletic competition and sports training for over one million children and adults with mental retardation. The annual events give participants the opportunity to develop physical fitness techniques while enjoying the festivities with the community and other Special Olympians. Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, Lowell, Mass., has donated nearly 800 new and used books to the House of Hope, an emergency housing shelter in Lowell. Employees and members of the credit union donated the books during a recent book drive. With the drive sponsored by the Massachusetts Credit Union League’s Social Responsibility Committee, Jeanne D’Arc CU invited members to drop off books at any of its branches. The House of Hope’s in-house library has doubled in size, and plans are underway to share those books with sister agencies throughout the area to help build the reading skills of as many children as possible. Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union has $395 million in assets and serves more than 33,000 members.