Interra Credit Union recently held a fundraiser and raised more than $5,600 for the Riley Children’s Foundation. On hand for the presentation are, from left, Bob Yenna, Mishawaka, an ambassador for Riley; Esmy Salazar, an Interra employee who had surgery at Riley last year; and John Eicher, the Interra staff member who promoted the idea for the Riley fundraiser.

GOSHEN — Interra Credit Union, its staff and members raised more than $5,600 in just a week to support the Riley Children’s Foundation. The fundraiser was a part of the Credit Unions for Kids^® Children’s Miracle Network industry initiative.

The project started as a suggestion from staff member John Eicher to participate in a one-day “Miracle Jeans Day.”  The project escalated with a challenge match of $2,000 from the credit union, and the staff joined in wholeheartedly to meet, and exceed, the challenge.  Members got involved, too, helping to reach the final total of $5,676.42, with 100 percent going to the Riley Hospital for Children.

One of Interra’s young staff members, Esmy Salazar of Goshen, is a strong supporter of Riley  Hospital, especially after her personal experience last year. As a senior at Goshen High School, Esmy was hired at Interra as part of the cooperative education program and began her training in July, 2015.

Once school started in August, Esmy worked at the RedHawks student branch at the high school and also in the marketing department at the credit union. “I started having severe headaches and other symptoms,” Esmy recalled. In early September, she ended up in the emergency room which led to lots of tests, and she was no longer able to work at the credit union.

“At Goshen, they found out I had a tumor in my brain, but tests showed it wasn’t cancerous,” Esmy said. “I was 17 years old and was still young enough to go to Riley, so that’s where they sent me.”  She made several trips to Indianapolis for tests, scans and three days of intense monitoring.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 16, Esmy checked into the hospital with surgery scheduled that afternoon. “I woke up and asked what day it was,” she remembers. “When they told me it was December 23, I said I wanted to go home for Christmas.” Esmy got her wish and was dismissed on Christmas Eve.

“My doctors and everyone at Riley were so positive and encouraging,” Esmy noted. “They were all just so kind and caring.”  Since her surgery she has returned to Riley for checkups and will continue future followups.

As she became stronger, Esmy’s primary focus was to return to school to fulfill her goal of graduating from high school. “My counselor, Jeremy McLaughlin, was the best ever!” She said he helped her schedule classes and stay connected at the high school, taking online classes. “My graduation was the happiest day of my life,” she recalls.

Now enrolled at IUSB, Esmy is studying for her bachelor’s degree in ultrasound technology. Coming full circle, she applied for and was hired as a peak-time consultant at Interra’s New Paris office, working about 20 hours per week. “It has meant so much to me that Interra raised money for Riley,” she said.

Bob Yenna, Mishawaka, accepted the donation on behalf of the Riley Children’s Foundation. He is a St. Joseph County ambassador for the Foundation and has been raising funds through a bike ride for 15 years, as an opportunity to give back for his daughter’s care at Riley when she was a child.