Community Sponsor: People's Credit Union

Southern Rhode Island Volunteers series promotes local businesses that are engaged in community stewardship

“Every grassroots nonprofit knows that to successfully make a positive difference in the lives of people in need, community improvement and concerns of any given community, it takes a partnership of many. No one entity can do it all, has all the resources necessary, nor all the answers,” says SRIV Executive Director Deb Tanner. “One of those critical partners is People’s Credit Union.”

People’s Credit Union is aware that SRIV supplies critically-needed assistance to our senior community whether it is providing transportation to healthcare providers and grocery stores, coordinating and delivering meals, or visiting and giving companionship to homebound seniors.  Many of these needs can easily be overlooked in our busy day-to-day lives, and SRIV does a great job of filling that void and providing care to an underfunded and sometimes overlooked group in our close community.

“People’s Credit Union is proud to be associated with Southern Rhode Island Volunteers,” says Michael Hey, branch manager of the Wakefield office. “People’s is proud to be a sponsor of the 2019 Edna Bernier Memorial Bowled Over for SRIV event for the third consecutive year, supporting senior citizens in need. We look forward to sponsoring and participating in this event again in the future, and remaining behind such a positively impactful organization as SRIV.”

“One of our core values is to enhance the communities we serve,” says Michael. “Being co-operative, meaning giving back to our local community in a variety of ways whether it is sponsoring, volunteering or maintaining a friendly, helpful presence daily.”

SRIV’s mission of service depends on people giving their time, on donors providing funding to support services, and on the whole of the community being educated and engaged around challenges as People’s Credit Union chooses to be. This local entity is engaged not only in financial services that we as consumers are looking for, but also in tangible ways to help our communities be the best they can. 

People’s Credit Union is a supporter of one of SRIV’s major programs, the Independent Aging Services. The help provided through these services is mostly recognized by senior citizens but there are younger individuals and families with disabled members who are assisted as well.  One of the services provided through this program is food delivery. Deb Tanner is known to say “food that sits on a shelf has no nutritional value”.

 For many in need, food pantries, subsidized grocery shopping, churches, Meals on Wheels and other programs provide through partnerships and donations, food to come up or to receive through volunteer delivery like SRIV provides. Food insecurity is not something to take lightly; if you feel it’s not important, try not eating for 24 hours or longer. If you think it’s not a big concern, it is for many of our neighbors who are living at or below the poverty level or are dealing with low-income constraints and sometimes have to choose between having heating or food. Nutrition and appropriate food resources are essential to sustaining life.

SRIV is proud to be part of solutions to address inadequate food resources for our older citizens across southern Rhode Island’s communities. SRIV delivers food each month that we pick up at local food pantries to about 62 homebound seniors and/or disabled individuals. SRIV delivers food each month from local grocery stores after we’ve completed the shopping for another 20 homebound seniors and/or disabled adults. SRIV delivers Meals on Wheels to about 45 seniors and/or disabled adults each day, providing a total of five meals each week for these folks in South Kingstown and Narragansett alone. Additionally, SRIV provides volunteer resources to Charlestown, North Kingstown, Richmond and Westerly to deliver Meals on Wheels from various sites in those communities, providing five meals each week for an estimated 80 individuals. These are our neighbors, who without assistance, cannot access the food that is vital to their health and wellbeing.

How does People’s Credit Union make a difference for the services we mentioned above? Each year, SRIV hosts an event that provides funding to support our food delivery effort. In 2019, on March 31, the Edna Bernier Memorial Bowled Over for SRIV will take place. People’s is one of those vitally important partners who will attend the event. People’s Credit Union not only provides a cash sponsorship for the event, but also provides employee participation, which is equally as important. This local business provides funding support and education to its employees and members about community opportunities, challenges and ways to engage. People’s Credit Union helps a number of local small, grassroots nonprofits that help the people of our communities.

On behalf of everyone helped through SRIV, all the volunteers and staff, Deb Tanner expressed her gratitude for People’s Credit Union and their commitment to community, not just in words but in action and funding. This company represents what makes Rhode Island communities such wonderful places to grow, work and age.  People’s Credit Union is a member of the “solutions” partnerships.  Way to go People’s!