WATERFORD, Conn.–– Charter Oak Federal Credit Union’s Community Outreach Committee has donated more than $3,100 for food assistance to the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center as well as health-care workers and “meals on wheels” recipients in eastern Connecticut.
The Community Outreach Committee is an employee-led assistance program that receives its funding from Charter Oak employees who pay $3 weekly to dress down on Friday “Casual Days.” These funds are used to assist Charter Oak members in need.
“I’m very proud of our Charter Oak employees’ generosity and thoughtfulness to earmark their donations to help those most in need during this current pandemic,” said President/CEO Brian A. Orenstein. “These donations are typical of the kind of generosity and helping hand that this committee provides throughout the year to help Charter Oak members who may be facing hardships.”
The Community Outreach Committee’s donations of $3,133 in late April follow the credit union’s donation of $75,000 that same month to 15 food pantries and food centers in eastern Connecticut to help restock their shelves during the Coronavirus health crisis. Charter Oak’s donation of $75,000, which comprised $5,000 individual donations to each food pantry and food center, is the largest single-month donation in the credit union’s 81-year history.
The Community Outreach Committee donated $1,000 to Filomena’s Restaurant in Waterford, which combined the committee’s donation with those from New London’s Wireless Zone retailer, for lunches for the staff at the Bayview Health Care facility in Waterford. In addition, the committee donated more than $700 toward the Sift Bakery in Mystic’s “Buy a Loaf, Give a Loaf” initiative to benefit the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center.
The Community Outreach Committee donation allowed Sift Bakery to donate large amounts of non-perishable food items along with 50 loaves of freshly made bread for those in need of food assistance from the Pawcatuck social services organization.
An additional committee donation of $1,400 went directly to the Thames Valley Council for Community Action’s “meals on wheels” program for senior citizens in both New London and Windham counties.