VALLEY — San Luis Valley Federal Bank announced its top recipients from the 2017 Spirit of Giving holiday donation program.

The top 10 recipients were:

(1) St. Joseph’s Parish, $2,662 

(2) Sacred Heart Church, $1,564

(3) Valley Humane League, $1,122

(4) Conour Animal Shelter, $1,014

(5) AHS Wrestling Team, $991

(6) SLV Women’s Resource Center, $871

(7) St. Joseph’s Church, $764

(8) La Puente Home, $704

(9) Hospice del Valle, $692

(10) Sangre de Cristo Parish, $620

In all, 142 Valley non-profit organizations received a portion of the $30,000 designated by the bank’s board of directors.

Started in 1999, the program allows the bank’s members to cast one vote per account to designate a share of the funds to be donated to their favorite Valley community non-profit organization. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the bank’s members cast 2,513 votes with each vote worth $11.94. 

Bank President Duane Bussey said, “We were happy that so many of our members participated in the program again this year. They appreciate the opportunity to direct where a portion of the bank’s community investments are made. Our board of directors believes very strongly in this program and was happy to make the funds available for the program again this year.”

Caption: Duane Bussey, back center, and Kellie Veneman, far right, present proceeds from the SLV Federal Bank’s Spirit of Giving Program to representatives of the SLV Women’s Resource Center, Valley Humane League, St Joseph’s Parish, Sangre de Cristo Parish, Hospice del Valle, La Puente, Sacred Heart Church, AHS Wrestling and Conour Animal Shelter./Courtesy photo