“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” – Actress Meryl Streep
Streep attributes acting to teaching her about empathy and helping her connect with people. While INB staff members don't spend hours on stage or behind a camera, their personal experiences have given them great empathy and contributed to how they make an impact on their community.
INB Senior Teller Denise Fertig has seen her family struggle from the effects of Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Helping find ways to identify and treat the disease is simply part of her family’s tradition through their involvement with the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Memory Walk.
Denise says, “My mother-in-law fought Alzheimer’s for many years and my father-in-law suffered from dementia. They have both since passed away. My brother-in-law has since been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
“My husband’s family has walked in the Rockford walk (where we are from) for the past 20 years in support for finding a cure,” Denise continues. “We have been recognized as the most money raised by a family for most of the years we’ve been involved. Last year was close to $15,000.
“It is an annual family event with close to 30 family members spanning three generations in attendance.
We are hoping someday there will be a cure for this incredibly devastating disease.”
Flower Bills for Charity
Emily Holle used her empathy and courage to take part in a fundraiser to help pay for annual mammograms. While she’s taken part in a number of community projects INB has sponsored in Bloomington, she really stepped up when it came to the Ft. Jesse Imaging Center’s fundraiser to assure affordability doesn’t stop women from getting annual mammograms.
“This event held a little more weight in my heart since I struggle with a variety of health issues and have had to rely on charity programs to cover my hospital bills in the past,” Emily says. I never want someone to go without a medical procedure or preventative exam because they cannot afford it.”
As for her part of the fundraising, Emily designed a bra for the organization’s silent auction. Keeping true to her banking career, Emily used fake bills and silver dollars to create her masterpiece, pictured here. Each bill was folded into a flower using origami techniques. Along with her bra, Emily added a basket filled with gift cards from local merchants. The bra and gift cards will be featured on the Ft. Jesse Imagining’s Facebook page, and all of the proceeds will go to help women/people in the community who can’t afford annual mammograms. Voting is live Oct. 14-28 on Ft Jesse Imaging’s Facebook page.
Emily is a senior teller at our Bloomington branch. She says Branch Manager Andi Whalen has asked her to help with a number of community events. “I enjoy it because it challenges my problem-solving skills and let’s my creative side out! For example, for this project I taught myself how to origami fold all those flowers! Each project lets me do something new.”
Andi also encouraged Denise to take part in the Bloomington community. Denise says, “My husband and I moved to Bloomington to be close to our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons. We enjoy attending our grandson’s baseball and football games and cheering them on.”