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From left to right: Donna Labbe, Secretary, OTIS FCU Board of Directors; Kimberly Couture, Director of Marketing & Communications, OTIS FCU; Jasmine Jackman, Loan Officer, OTIS FCU; and Stephen Hamilton, Treasurer, OTIS FCU Board of Directors.
On August 23, OTIS FCU hosted its second annual “Totes for Teachers” back-to-school event, giving away supplies to teachers employed within the credit union’s field of membership. Teachers who stopped by were each provided a plastic tote full of supplies ranging from pencils and notebooks to hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. In total, 125 totes were filled, nearly doubling the results of last year’s in-branch event.
OTIS FCU built upon the success of last year’s event through community business partnerships. Spruce Mountain Pharmacy, the credit union’s main partner, donated a significant amount of supplies for each tote.
When asked about their support, Spruce Mountain Pharmacy Owner Stephen Maki shared, “OTIS FCU is very community-oriented, and ‘Totes for Teachers’ is a great initiative that helps our educators start their school year off on the right foot. Joining forces with the credit union fits perfectly with our vision of giving back to the community and supporting education. Although we realize OTIS FCU’s market area is a little bit larger than our typical marketing footprint, we saw this as another opportunity to get the word out about what we are doing at Spruce Mountain Pharmacy.”
This year, OTIS FCU also made school supply donation boxes available to allow community members to join in on the support for local educators. Boxes were located at the credit union and at Spruce Mountain Pharmacy, Hight Chevrolet & GMC in Farmington, and Jo’s Hair Fashion. Monetary donations were also made toward the purchase of additional school supplies, including one made in memory of Nancy Blodgett, who not only worked at OTIS FCU but served on the credit union’s Supervisory Committee for many years.
OTIS FCU employees planned and carried out this initiative, with the support of community partners. Kimberly Couture, OTIS FCU Director of Marketing & Communications, and Jasmine Jackman, OTIS FCU Loan Officer, led the charge, organizing planning meetings with Spruce Mountain Pharmacy and gathering donations and back-to-school supplies.
Reflecting upon the results of this year’s event, Jackman commented, “With it only being the second year of us doing this, we were truly blown away with the turnout. Teachers put in a lot of hard work and dedication each school year. This is just one way that we can show them support and appreciation for all the work they do.”