THE generous spirt of a young Scariff woman is to be remembered in a donation programme to support charities in East Clare.

The annual charitable initiative of Derg Credit Union will honour one of its late members, Lasairfhíona Kennedy.

The credit union invites charities operating within the common bond to enter an application process for a chance to obtain €5,000 for their charity.

The amount allocated to the fund is decided by the board each year. This year’s winners are the East Clare St Vincent De Paul, “a very worthy cause in light of the difficult times we are in,” a spokesperson said. 

In 2021, Lasairfhíona, a young member of the Credit Union, sadly passed away. Lasairfhíona, saved her money in a Jar she called ‘The Helping Hand’.

The proceeds of the jar were regularly lodged to her credit union account and then sent by cheque to her various charities.

The name of her jar reflected a theme ‘The Giving Hand’ in the book on the history of Derg Credit Union by Jim O Brien.

The theme describes the Derg Credit Union tradition of donating to clubs and charities in their common bond for the last 50 years. In recognition of the community spirit and kindness of Lasairfhíona, which reflect the values of the credit union, the board has decided to donate €500 to Lasairfhíona’s charities as part of the donation programme.

“The board also decided to rename the donation programme calling it ‘The Lasairfhíona Helping Hand Fund’, in light of the fact that “a life that touches others goes on forever”.