Employees donate time and talent to raise awareness of the importance of mental health
To raise awareness about the importance of mental health in Rhode Island, People’s Credit Union recently partnered with over a dozen nonprofit organizations, schools, and community police officers across the state for their 3rd annual Day of Purpose. The credit union also hosted an all-branch Essentials Drive collecting more than 500 items for children and teenagers in supportive care. All People’s branches, including the Member Service Center, were closed on Thursday, September 17th, for employees to volunteer over 500 hours of their time.
“Mental health touches every family we serve, and too often it goes unspoken,” said Sean Daly, President & CEO of People’s Credit Union. “We closed every branch, so our team could spend a day supporting the people who do this work year-round. We’re grateful to every partner who welcomed us.”
Partner organizations for People’s Credit Union’s 2026 Day of Purpose included:
Child & Family – Volunteers helped create comfortable indoor and outdoor living spaces for young women in Child & Family’s residential housing program, which provides a supportive home for six young women who are working toward independence while overcoming significant life challenges. Projects included creating a “Zen” room for relaxation, outdoor furniture installation, weeding, gardening, and landscaping (28 bags of leaves and yard waste were removed). Volunteers also worked with Child & Family’s early childhood program to design a children’s playroom. This program currently serves 53 children by providing high-quality early learning, developmental support, and behavioral health services for young children and their families. To learn more: Home – Child and Family
Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County – Volunteers assisted with various tasks to assist the small staff at the DVRCSC at two locations, including their Main Street Location and an apartment building that serves 9 individuals and their families. Activities included mowing lawns, trimming hedges, weeding three gardens, cleaning 32 windows, and enhancing the safety of a handicap ramp. The DVRCSC works to educate, support, and empower those in need and works toward a future free of violence. To learn more: DVRC – Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County
East Bay Community Action Program – Volunteersparticipated in several activities, including setting up a staff appreciation breakfast and lunch for EBCAP’s for 85 behavioral health employees at EBCAP’s East Bay Health Center, which provides emergency services including stabilization, support, and advocacy, and access to behavioral health services to keep clients safe in their community, and EBCAP’s family counseling center, which provides individual, group, and family counseling, evaluation, and medication support for clients in need. Volunteers at EBCAP’s Newport Health Care Center also set up a staff appreciation breakfast for 35 behavioral health employees and created 36 hand-painted cards for EBCAP’s behavioral health staff to give to patients needing inspiration to continue working towards health and healing and assembled 30 cleaning supply buckets for clients in EBCAP’s residential programs. Volunteers also transformed the reception areas at these locations into welcoming spaces for the estimated 1,530 patients this fall. To learn more: Your Bridge to Self Reliance – East Bay Community Action Program
Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District/AgInnovation – Volunteers assisted with weeding out four distinctive invasive plant species from the Pollinator Meadow for ERIC’s Living Learning Lab. The AgInnovation Farm is a student-driven educational farm focused on sustainable agriculture and hands-on learning. Volunteers also learned how the farm’s project-based learning connects middle school students from Middletown and Portsmouth with opportunities to experience the positive impact that being outdoors has on mental health. Over 1,500 students have participated in the farm’s programming. To learn more: AgInnovation Farm — ERICD.
Jamestown Arts Center – Volunteers assisted 10 artists with developmental disabilities from Out of the Box Studio and 15 students from the MET School with a creative arts session of self-exploration and healing. Volunteers helped attendees create vision boards and self-portrait collages. To learn more: Jamestown Arts Center.
Lucy’s Hearth – Lucy’s Hearth works to assist homeless families overcome barriers to self-sufficiency through a combination of holistic programs and services offered in a hopeful, safe, and nurturing environment. Volunteers assisted with the cleanout of the donation room, allowing staff to better utilize the space for their clients. Over 100 donation boxes and multiple furniture items were organized and moved to an off-site storage facility. Fifteen families are currently living at Lucy’s Hearth, but the donations will help countless future families in need. To learn more: Lucy’s Hearth.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (MLKCC), Newport – Participating in two activities, volunteers unloaded and stocked 9 pallets of food pantry items and helped stock MLKCC’s mobile food pantry for homebound and isolated individuals. Thirty families were assisted with shopping for items in the pantry on this day. Volunteers also helped serve lunch to 60 community members in need, providing nutritious meals to ensure they have access to a healthy meal and a safe, friendly atmosphere. To learn more: Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
Narrow River Preservation Association – In collaboration with the Town of South Kingstown, volunteers met with over two dozen businesses at the Town of South Kingstown’s Health & Wellness Fair. Volunteers networked with attendees and promoted the NRPA’s mission while educating attendees how time outdoors, especially around water, can help reduce stress, quiet mental fatigue, and provide a welcome break from everyday demands. To learn more: Narrow River Preservation Association – Protecting the Pettaquamscutt Estuary since 1970
Newport Mental Health – Volunteers learned about NMH’s programming and organized and assembled 200 women’s hygiene kits and 200 sensory care package kits for teenagers and children utilizing their inpatient and outpatient services. To learn more: Children & Teens Behavioral Health Care | Newport Mental Health
Community Police Officers from Newport and Middletown Police Departments – Traveling with Middletown and Newport Community Police Officers and their K9 comfort and emotional support dogs, volunteers where able to bring education and joy to over fifty individuals at the Middletown Senior Center, the Jamestown Early Learning Center, and the Potter League for Animals. As part of these visits, officers were able to speak about how their specialized therapy dogs are deployed to nonprofit organizations, schools, hospitals, and disaster recovery sites to reduce stress and de-escalate tension. To learn more: Middletown, RI | Official Website and City of Newport | Home
North Kingstown High School/Rachel’s Challenge: People’s Credit Union underwrote a visit from a Rachel’s Challenge speaker to North Kingstown High School, bringing the national evidence-based anti-bullying program, which aims to reduce violence, build resilience, and create a culture of kindness, to 1,300 students. Volunteers also helped hundreds of students sign a banner pledging to accept Rachel’s Challenge and helped 30 students establish a Friends of Rachel Club. To learn more: Rachel’s Challenge.
Portsmouth Senior Center & Anthony House Representatives from the credit union’s Risk and Financial Recovery teams conducted Senior Fraud and Scam Workshops for over three dozen seniors, who were actively engaged and asking important questions about how to protect themselves. The Portsmouth Senior Center serves as a vital community hub for seniors, and the Anthony House provides high-quality affordable housing for seniors in a warm and supportive environment. To learn more: https://www.facebook.com/portsmouthseniorcenter
Potter League for Animals – Volunteers learned about shelter programs, the human-animal bond, pet loss, and mental health. Volunteers also assisted with the activity of bagging and sorting sixteen industrial bags of donated cat and dog food into individual servings for the Pet Food Pantry. To learn more: Home – Potter League For Animals.
Shri Yoga – Volunteers learned about Shri Yoga’s mission to empower wellness through skilled, inclusive yoga outreach. Assisting with two adaptive yoga sessions for individuals with special needs, volunteers were able to support and interact with forty class attendees. To learn more: Shri Yoga | Rhode Island’s First Creative, Live, Work, Wellness Community
