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As hundreds of hot air balloons rose from Balloon Fiesta Park against the bright blue sky Monday morning, Christina Trujillo and her 10-year-old daughter Eliana watched from the balcony on the sixth floor of the University of New Mexico Children鈥檚 Hospital. They had been planning to attend the event for the first time, but Eliana was admitted to the hospital.

鈥淗ospitals can be scary,鈥� Christina said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e in good hands and so far, so good.鈥�

Looking to help ease some of the tension for not only Christina and Eliana, but several other patients and families, were several employees from Nusenda Credit Union, who were there volunteering their time.

As a part of the credit union鈥檚 seventh annual Community Day, these employees served breakfast, played with patients and spoke with their families.

Christina Trujillo said having volunteers there to interact with them helps take their mind off being in the hospital.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really great that they go all out. It鈥檚 really comforting as a parent 鈥� people are there to not just to comfort your child, but you as well. I feel like I鈥檓 not alone,鈥� she said.

A similar sentiment was echoed by Avery Pacheco, whose 7-year-old daughter Myla is a patient at the hospital. Myla spent the morning building a miniature haunted house with Nusenda volunteers as her mother looked on smiling.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing, I feel like them using their time to do this with kids is really heart touching,鈥� Pacheco said.

This was one of several initiatives Nusenda employees were taking part in on Monday, when more than 450 credit union employees in five cities across the state volunteered more than 1,600 hours to seven projects.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those days where you recognize how special Nusenda really is,鈥� Michelle Dearholt, executive vice president of operations at Nusenda Credit Union said.

Community Day started as a leadership development project, Dearholt said. Leaders in a development class would come up with a volunteer idea and recommend it to the credit union.

Since then, Community Day has become an annual opportunity for credit union employees across the state to give time to projects tied by a common theme.

The theme of Monday鈥檚 volunteer efforts was centered around Nusenda鈥檚 partnerships with higher education. Employees were stationed at several college campuses, including New Mexico State, New Mexico Tech and Santa Fe Community College as well as UNM.

In sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Nusenda employees helped clean up the main UNM campus and were busy sorting, organizing, and preparing food for Central New Mexico Community College鈥檚 student and family food pantry in addition to volunteering at UNM Children鈥檚 Hospital.

鈥淥ur employees are really excited to be there,鈥� said Sara Keller, vice president of community engagement at Nusenda. 鈥淲e have good relationships with all these organizations that we鈥檙e working with.鈥�

In addition to the Community Day project, Nusenda is also supporting New Mexico communities through sponsorships and grant funding. In 2022, they gave more than $1.8 million in grants and sponsorships to support nonprofit organizations.

鈥淓veryone has the opportunity to give back to the communities that we love,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淲e hope the students, families, and staff who are impacted by today鈥檚 projects are better off and enjoy it.鈥�