PITCHING IN
Blue Cross delivers some holiday cheer
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) worked to put a smile on the faces of children in the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program on Dec. 11. The event was held at St. John’s Methodist Church. BCBSNM employees adopted 27 families, including 32 guardians and 59 children, to receive the presents through the employee-driven holiday program.
“I am especially proud of our employees who worked so hard during such a busy time of year to supply some holiday cheer to the families of Grandparent Raising Grandchildren,” said Janice Torrez, divisional vice president, external affairs & chief of staff for BCBSNM. “Providing these gifts has been heartwarming for our entire staff and we hope it brings some joy to the families.”
Employee teams received wish lists from the children and adults of the program, which helped the teams to provide meaningful gifts for each member of the family. Employees raise money through fundraisers or personally donating gifts to fulfill the wish lists.
Santa swaps out sleigh for fire truck
Each year, Albuquerque District 8 City Councilor Trudy Jones and her staff partner with the Woodworkers Association and the Albuquerque Fire Department to bring Santa on a fire truck to the children at CLNkids. Most of the children at CLNkids have not experienced the joy of seeing Santa, sitting in his lap, and receiving handcrafted wooden toys, and a bag of new toys and treats.
PetSmart assists Humane Society
The Española Valley Humane Society is pleased to announce that is has received a nearly $92,000 grant from PetSmart Charities. The grant funds the inaugural year of the Community Pet Program, designed to address the pet overpopulation in rural and outlying northern New Mexico communities served by the shelter.
“We know that pets living in poor communities are most likely to enter shelters and this generous grant from PetSmart Charities allows us to offer free, on-site vaccination clinics, targeted outreach, and free transportation of animals to and from our clinic for spay/neuter surgery,” says Bridget Lindquist, EVHS executive director. “Our goal is to perform a total of 600 free sterilizations and decrease the intake of unwanted animals from the targeted communities: the pueblos of Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh, and villages of Chimayo, Hernandez and Velarde.”
EVHS was one of only 31 groups nationwide of 150 that applied to receive this grant. To date, EVHS has held two free on-site vaccination clinics. In October in the community of Velarde, the shelter saw 80 animals, 38 of which had never seen a vet before. In November, the shelter went to Hernandez and served 133
animals, 79 of which had never seen a vet and 80 that had not been altered. If the shelter was unable to make a spay/neuter appointment during the visit, staff will follow up to encourage owners to spay/neuter their pets, including free transportation for the animals to and from the clinic. The spay/neuter procedure is also free.
The next free on site vaccination clinic will be on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, at the Arboleda Community Center in Chimayo.
For information about the Shelter and the free clinics or free spay/neuter program, call 505-753-8662; or visit www.evalleyshelter.org.
American Home aids food bank
American Home is pleased to announce that this past weekend’s event was a great success, raising money for local food banks. Kenton Van Harten, president/CEO of American Home, said, “We were pleasantly surprised to raise significantly more than we expected.” Donations included $10,000 to the Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, and substantial donations to the Food Depot in Santa Fe and the Echo Food Bank in Farmington.
American Home has been a strong community partner in New Mexico for nearly 80 years and is remembering those in need during the holiday season.