Christopher Palmer, Pioneer Bank President/CEO presents Leigh Humble with her Volunteer of the Year certificate.
@UNMSOM Pioneer Bank is very proud of Team Member, Leigh Humble – our 2019 Volunteer of the Year! Leigh is an AVP/Quality Control in our Internal Auditing Department and earned this award by being one of the top volunteers at the bank – increasing her volunteer efforts by over 100 hours in 2019.
Most of the hours Leigh earned were by crafting fleece blankets for patients at UNM Children’s Hospital. “In August 2019 while in Albuquerque for a dart tournament, I got to talking to an old friend of mine there named Chris Crum,” stated Leigh. “He told me about an ongoing project that he and his wife are involved in. Each year they make tie-together blankets for the kids who are patients at UNM Children’s Hospital. Their goal at that point was to get 180 blankets made. I asked for more details, which Chris provided. The blankets have to all be the same size, 48” x 60” and are colorful and warm.”
Leigh thought, “This is something I can do to help out!”. As soon as she was done at the tournament, she visited a fabric store and purchased 12 kits. Her husband most likely thought she was a bit zealous, but supported my project. She quickly completed the first 12, then delivered them to Chris in Albuquerque. Then she purchased 18 more kits, and again delivered them to Chris. Then she bought 10 more – you get the idea. She is currently completing ones she has, then will purchase more to start the next round. I have so much fun picking out the kits, choosing the designs I hope the kids will enjoy.
To help Leigh out, Pioneer Bank will be purchasing the kits for her to complete blankets for 2020. This is such a great cause and Leigh is committed to supporting the children who are patients at UNM Children’s Hospital.
Leigh added, “I work on the blankets during my lunch breaks, after work, at the Eagles during dart league and at the bowling alley during league night.” She had no way of knowing if the blankets make a difference to the kids or not, until she was at her community bible study group one Sunday evening this past November. Her group was discussing different projects they were involved in and she brought up the blanket-making. One of the couples at the meeting said that a few years ago their son had been a patient at UNM Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque and had received a blanket. They said he still has the blanket and that it meant so much to them, and to him. This small gift showed them someone cared about the kids and that they weren’t just another medical case to deal with. “That made my day, knowing that someone I knew had benefitted from this ongoing project.”
Leigh, thank you for all you do for your entire community. We are so proud of you and feel so blessed to have you as a part of Team Pioneer.
Team Pioneer is so grateful for all our Team Members. In 2019 they have volunteered over 3200 hours in our communities.
