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ITD employees open checkbooks, hearts
to make holidays brighter

ITD Headquarters employees opened their checkbooks as well as their hearts to make the holidays more festive last month. A late blitz before Christmas collected more than $450 for the family of an ITD employee stricken by hard financial conditions and also assisted children from a nearby elementary school to help the family of a badly burned second-grade student.

When employees in the Human Resource Office were asked to provide income information about an ITD worker stricken by medical problems, they became aware of the family’s financial constraints. Subsequent inquiries about possible outside assistance came up empty.

So Human Resources took the initiative.

Gretchen Beatty asked for donations from HR staff and raised nearly $200. Tammie Jauregui then sent an e-mail message to administrative assistants, and the impromptu fund grew almost immediately to more than $453, with additional funds still expected.

The employee’s spouse picked up the money before Christmas and expressed her gratitude for the generosity.

“She and her family are so grateful… and we felt so good about being able to help a family in need,” reported HR manager Mary Harker. “Most of the ITD employees who gave have the least amount to give, but they gave what they had anyway.

“I am so proud and touched by the outpouring of caring and generosity. This started out as just HR wanting to help out, and it turned into a cause many employees at ITD put their hearts into. That’s the true meaning of Christmas.”

In offices nearby, Vehicle Services employees pooled their resources to help with medical needs of a Lowell Elementary student who was severely burned in a barbecue accident last fall.

The child and his father were injured when a propane tank exploded. The youngster received third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and is being treated at the Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City. His condition still was considered critical at Christmas. He has endured about 18 skin grafts and faces the prospects of another five or six months of hospitalization.

Hospital staff members helped make lodging arrangements for the youngster’s family, but there still was a need for funds to cover their living expenses.

When ITD’s Amy Kearns learned of the need, she asked co-workers to respond. They did – in the amount of about $400, which was delivered to a school counselor and passed along to the family. They expressed their gratitude to generous ITD employees and Lowell Elementary.

ITD employees know well what it is means to help the public through the course of their regular jobs. They have demonstrated again, the willingness to go the extra mile to help families with special needs.