AROUND THE VALLEY

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union Gives Back for World Kindness Day

On Nov. 13, World Kindness Day, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union surprised customers at the Fletcher Street Market Basket in Lowell with gift cards as part of its Small Acts That Give Back initiative.

For the past three years, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union’s President and CEO, Mark Cochran, and team members surprised shoppers by handing out 100 $15 gift cards to assist with their shopping.

Jeanne D’Arc’s Small Acts That Give Back initiative includes various campaigns throughout the year. The current campaign, “Drive Local, Shop Local,” encourages people to shop locally. Ten winners will each be awarded a $50 gas card. For more information visit JDCU.com.

 

NECC Alumna Receives 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award

Northern Essex Community College (NECC) alumna Mabel Covarrubias-Doucette has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the NECC Outstanding Alumni Award. Her nomination was announced following a vote by the NECC Alumni Board, with support from President Lane Glenn.

Covarrubias-Doucette holds a juris doctorate from New England Law, in addition to two bachelor’s degrees from UMass Lowell and an associate degree in paralegal studies from NECC, and is the owner of MCD Immigration Law. A practicing attorney who grew up in both the U.S. and Mexico, she specializes in the areas of immigration and naturalization laws.

To learn more about the NECC Outstanding Alumni Award, please view this webpage or contact the Alumni Office at alumni@necc.mass.edu.

Windrush Farm Announces Scholarships for Therapeutic Riding in the Spring

Windrush Farm is offering the Kathy Blanton Memorial and the Mark Perry Memorial Scholarship that provides the opportunity for a child, adolescent or adult with disabilities to partake in a therapeutic riding session at Windrush in North Andover.

Details of the Kathy Blanton Memorial Scholarship and the Mark Perry Memorial Scholarship can be found at WindrushFarm.org or by sending an email to info@windrushfarm.org.

Niezrecki Receives UMass Lowell’s Top Faculty Honor

UMass Lowell’s Christopher Niezrecki, professor and department chair of mechanical engineering, has a knack for bringing people together.

“A lot of times, faculty work independently. They just need a little spark to figure out how to come together and leverage their abilities to pursue larger efforts,” Niezrecki said. “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts once you do that.”

Thanks in part to his team-building talents, Niezrecki has been named the 2020 Distinguished University Professor. The annual award is the highest accolade bestowed on a faculty member by UMass Lowell. It honors educators who are recognized by their peers for outstanding contributions to teaching, research and service.

Niezrecki is the 13th professor to receive the award since it was established in 2008. He will deliver the annual Distinguished University Professor Lecture in the spring.

Amazon Logistics Facility Coming to North Andover

Hillwood Development will acquire over 100 acres of the Osgood Landing industrial facility in North Andover to construct a 3,800,000 square foot state-of-the-art logistics facility for Amazon.

The sale has been negotiated by Ozzy Properties and its president, Orit Goldstein. The work will include the installation of new utilities, parking fields and landscaping.

Ozzy Properties will retain the existing office building. Osgood Landing will remain home to nearly two dozen businesses including medical device, computer and data service developers, financial services and education organizations, and green technology firms.

Lazarus House Gala and Auction Goes Virtual and Exceeds Fundraising Goals

On Nov. 14, over 200 supporters gathered virtually for the 21st annual Sharing Our Bounty gala and auction. Complete with party boxes, programs gourmet meals and paired wines (supplied by Tuscan Kitchen) delivered to their doors, gala attendees connected in chat rooms, enjoyed an exquisite culinary experience and joined the live program and auction together from a distance. Between the live and silent auctions and the Fund the Mission portion of the program, monies raised from exceeded the 2020 goal.

Donations were designated to support the Lazarus House Soup Kitchen operation and renovation, and an expansion of their culinary training program.

The gala program is available to watch online here.

UMass Lowell Concludes Transformational Campaign

When UMass Lowell launched “Our Legacy, Our Place: The Campaign for UMass Lowell,” fundraising experts warned university leaders against setting their sights too high and falling short. The consultants recommended a goal of $100 million. University leaders disagreed. The goal was set at $125 million.

Over the course of seven years, UMass Lowell alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends donated $165.2 million for scholarships, teaching and research, and living-and-learning facility modernization.

The campaign has increased UMass Lowell’s endowment by 70 percent and now exceeds $110 million. More than $20 million was raised for student scholarships and some 7,000 scholarships were distributed during the campaign. In addition, the Independent University Alumni Association of Lowell awarded more than 600 additional scholarships worth $1 million over the life of the campaign. Of 575 total endowed funds, 218 were added during this period, primarily for student scholarships.

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Three Join NECC Alumni Board

Three local residents have been named to the Northern Essex Community College Alumni Advisory Board.

New members include Andrew Bergamini ’73 of Westford, Laura McKellar ’12 of Bradford, and Kervin Valdez ’05 of Lawrence, Mass.

Bergamini is a senior sales finance analyst with Juniper Networks of Westford. He earned a business management degree from Northern Essex and transferred to Northeastern University, where he also earned a business management degree. He is the lead recycling coordinator with the Lowell Folk Festival and also a founding board member of Graniteville Pride, a nonprofit focused on the Graniteville Historic District in Westford.

A medical assistant program graduate, McKellar is currently chair/clinical coordinator of the North Shore Community College Medical Assistant Program. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University.

Valdez attended the criminal justice program in 2005 and is currently the president of Town Livery, an SUV and limo service serving New England and Southern New Hampshire.

For more information on the NECC Alumni Board, please contact alumni@necc.mass.edu. ​