Red River CU Hosts Jeans Drive for Local Schools

When it comes to charity events, you can’t go wrong if jeans are involved. Just ask Melanie Palmer, branch manager of the Red River Credit Union in Paris, Texas.

As chairwoman of the local Rotary Club’s service committee, Palmer had the idea of hosting a jeans drive for local schools. The drive was held during July and August with collection points at the Paris RRCU branch, Toyota of Paris, Mathews Nissan, and Mathews Honda. The Texarkana Rotary Club also participated in the drive, and the RRCU branch in Texarkana delivered the jeans to the Paris Rotary Club.

Palmer said the drive netted 440 pairs of jeans, all of which were donated to three local school districts: Paris Independent School District, Chisum Independent School District, and Lamar Independent School District.

“We delivered the jeans on Friday, Aug. 13,” Palmer said. “The schools were ecstatic. They have what they call a care closet, a big room where they have items for students who might need things like school supplies, toiletries, and clothes.”

Palmer said she was thrilled with the results of the jeans drive. “This was something we created,” she said. “It was our first year to do it. I was very excited and proud, and we’re going to make it an annual event.”

With a membership of more than 111,000 strong, RRCU employs 350 residents across its service area and manages over $1 billion in assets.