LOWELL, Mass.—Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union is sponsoring the second stop along a 10,000-mile cross-country road trip designed to start an in-depth conversation about money.
The “Road to Financial Wellness” is an initiative sponsored by Phroogal, an organization that describes itself as a grassroots initiative to turn local money discussions into a national conversation on financial wellbeing. Phroogal plans to participate in 30 events in 30 locations in 30 days with the goal of recording and sharing real conversations that will inspire those of the Millennial generation to take control of their financial lives and live their dreams.
“We are excited to help spark a conversation about money and financial wellbeing for members of our community,” said Jeanne D’Arc CEO Mark S. Cochran. “Credit unions were founded on the philosophy of people helping people and this initiative is another excellent way to support that concept.”
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union is sponsoring Pit Stop #2 on June 2 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Four Oaks Country Club in Dracut, Mass. The event will feature the “Money and Mindset” seminar, a question and answer period, and networking opportunities.
According to its website, Phroogal “crowd sources and curates financial knowledge through an ask-and-answer platform with the goal of helping you make better financial decisions with just-in-time financial education.”
The company says that many people “lack access to trusted financial information, resources and experts. To make informed decisions, we’ve turned to search engines with queries resulting in an abundance of information that are based on search engine optimization tactics often burying relevant and reliable information. These search results strongly influence our decision-making and can contribute to poor financial decision-making.”
Phroogal was founded by Jason Vitug, a New Jersey native and former Silicon Valley resident who left his financial services executive job to explore the world. The company says that during his backpacking trip through 20 countries in 12 months, Vitug had an epiphany while sitting atop an 8th century temple in Bagan, Myanmar, and that is that after having had his fair share of money problems, he believes that accessibility to information and to experts has provided him the resources to make better financial decisions and that everyone should have equal access and a chance to live their dreams.
