2024 Great Holiday
Giveback
We’re celebrating the season of giving in a big way
Winter holidays are when our community comes together and celebrates the commitment we have to each other. For the fourth year in a row, we’ve let you – members and IC team members – choose which charities most deserve our help. We’ve raffled off the chance to nominate your favorite non-profits to receive more than $25,000 in donations from IC. To see who our winners nominated and why, check out the interviews attached to each charity logo below.
Which charities did our 10 winning IC members select?
Animal charities, soup kitchens, and community programs are among the organizations nominated by both members and team members. Each winning nonprofit addresses various critical needs within their communities, highlighting the importance of supporting one another on a fundamental level.
To learn more about these organizations and the reasons behind their selection, hover over the tiles below to read interviews with the members who nominated them.
Jenna-Marie Poche
Why are you passionate about them?
This is a Peer Recovery Center in Leominster. This center was opened a year ago and has helped over 100 members. They are supportive to those in recovery, or support a recovery life style. They hold meetings, are there for support, help people find resources, bring members to fun events. I am so passionate about them because they are not judgmental. This is the first peer recovery center in Leominster.
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Jacqueline Puglisi
Why are you passionate about them?
Work with many kids around the region to teach alpine skiing. They have helped form teams with kids that have difficulty joining teams or relating to other kids. They learn to work together and support each other on the slopes and outside of the program
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Karen West
Why are you passionate about them?
GDRNE is a nonprofit, shelter less, all breed rescue group comprised of volunteers to help homeless dogs.
I am literally a softie for any animals but this is where we adopted our latest dog, Odin. The family that had our dog (as a puppy) did an amazing job training and caring for him.
I give them all a great deal of credit as I could never volunteer for fear of keeping every animal that I laid my eyes on!
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Maureen Hodson
Why are you passionate about them?
This organization, directed by Dr. Connie Rittenhouse Drexler, through the Thayer Conservatory instructs and engages youth in musical performance. This youth orchestra performs at local and regional venues, and at times international destinations when funding allows. The children, generally elementary through high school aged, are introduced to various composers and cultural works and taught the art of public performance. My own grandchildren have benefited so much from participating in the orchestra programs. Individual instructors through Thayer Conservatory aid in personal musical training in instruments of choice and offer other opportunities for musical and voice performance as well. The professional quality of the Youth Ensemble is astounding. In addition to the beautiful music they perform, they learn self discipline, teamwork and the blessing of service to their communities.
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Jim Foreman
Why are you passionate about them?
I nominated NEADS because they train dogs to assist individuals who are deaf or living with disabilities.
NEADS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1976. Since then, it has trained over 1,900 Service Dog teams. Accredited by Assistance Dogs International, the leading authority on service dog standards, NEADS is committed to maintaining the highest industry practices.
Today, NEADS offers the most comprehensive range of Service Dog programs in the industry while staying true to its mission of providing Service Dogs for individuals with disabilities. The organization takes pride in its role as a pioneer, leader, and innovator in the field.
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Becky LaFreniere
Why are you passionate about them?
I am nominating as this non-profit organization as they helped tremendously while brother was out of work battling brain and lung cancer. They offer financial assistance for items such as mortgage, utilities, medical bills, groceries, etc. Without this organization, the donations received, and their assistance to families is need, people out of work due to their medical diagnosis and treatment can barely make it through this financial burden. I have worked in Human Resources for 24 years and through work and my personal family circumstance, know the tremendous relief this provides to patients and their families.
All of their cents are crucial in order to raise funds for this program from golf tournaments, meat raffles and scratch ticket raffles.
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Why are you passionate about them? 
Why are you passionate about them? 
Why are you passionate about them? 
Which charities did our 10 winning IC team members nominate?
Similar to the organizations selected by our members, the winning nominations from IC team members highlighted local, neighborhood-focused charities. These included animal rescue organizations, veterans outreach centers, food pantries, land conservation groups, and many others committed to strengthening the communities where we live and work.
To discover more about these organizations and the reasons they were chosen, hover over the tiles below to read interviews with the team members who nominated them.
Chris Lisciotti
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
Ahimsa Haven Animal Rescue is a no-kill cat rescue and placement agency, which is why I nominated them. Established in 1999 as a nonprofit organization, their mission is to find loving homes for abused, abandoned, homeless, and unwanted domestic animals.
The organization funds its efforts through donations, grants, and fundraising events, ensuring animals receive both routine and emergency medical care. Remarkably, 100% of the money raised goes directly to the animals, as no one in the organization takes a salary.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
The overall scope of what they do.
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Alysia Morrissette
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
They rescue animals primarily from the south, that are unfortunately in the worst conditions or abandoned. I currently help foster dogs for them. Since being a foster, I have a better understanding of all the time and money it really costs to actually rescue these animals and give them a better healthy life.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
The rescue is out of Winchendon and does pop-up events in local towns or breweries to help get these animals adopted and fundraise for their health and transportation costs.
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Pauline Abrams-Zirkle
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
The mission of the Lunenburg Community Food Pantry, Inc. (LCFP) is to offer nutritious food to individuals and families in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, who seek assistance, all within an atmosphere of kindness and respect.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Megan Normandin
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
Love Your Labels is a 501 (c) (3) organization located in Worcester. They believe that each person should be able to live free and express who they are without fear of bias, stigma, and shame influencing their opportunity to live happy, healthy, and fulfilled lives.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
Love Your Lables has a program called “Threads” that I really love. Threads is a 16 week program for high school age youth where students use fashion design and sewing skills education as a lens to discuss personal expression, gender, and sexuality, with the goal of helping youth on their journey of self discovery in a supportive and safe environment.
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Brian Diederich
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
The mission of Animal Shelter Inc. is to provide a no-kill environment for animals, with no restrictions on time or age. The shelter offers humane housing and exceptional medical care for stray, unwanted, abused, and neglected animals. These animals are cared for in our facilities and foster homes until they are placed in loving, lifelong homes.
We are dedicated to promoting responsible pet ownership and enhancing the quality of life for both animals and people in our community. Our shelter operates entirely on donations and service fees, without financial support from federal, state, or local governments.
Our on-site veterinary clinic serves approximately 3,000 animals annually, offering affordable spay, neuter, and vaccination services to the community. We also collaborate with humane societies and rescue organizations nationwide and in Puerto Rico to expand our impact.
Animal Shelter Inc. is a clean, well-managed, family-friendly facility with innovative programs designed to elevate animal care standards and positively impact both animals and people in our community.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
Saving animals from all over the country.
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Coleen LeBlanc
Tell us about the organization you’re nominating. What do they do? Why are you passionate about them?
Mission: Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center provides support to military veterans and their families in need of services to develop a resilient, self-sufficient lifestyle essential to succeed in today’s environment. Since its inception, the Center has been faithful to the mission, vision, and guiding principles of founder Cathy Stallings McWilliams. The MVOC offers low-income housing alternatives and residential readjustment programs, mental health counseling, case management, employment training, personal development, veterans’ benefits resource assistance, medical transportation, and food assistance.
What specific projects or campaigns of theirs do you feel especially passionate about supporting?
Helping with mental illness and setting with up with permanent housing and medical needs.
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$5,800 donated to charities chosen by other IC team members
Remaining IC team members who didn’t win were awarded $100 each to donate to charities of their choosing. Here are a few of the organizations that received their support.
Our commitment
At IC Credit Union, we firmly believe that the strength of any credit union—or business—lies in the vitality of the communities it serves. Since our founding in 1928 as a member-owned nonprofit institution, our mission has been to provide services that positively impact both our members and their neighborhoods.
Throughout the year, we actively support a wide range of charitable organizations and nonprofits across Massachusetts through outreach, volunteering, and corporate giving initiatives.
The Great Holiday Giveback is our opportunity to spotlight some of these organizations that hold a special place in the hearts of our members and employees and to share their inspiring stories with you.
Click below to learn more about IC’s charitable and corporate giving programs, designed to make a meaningful difference in Massachusetts communities.
