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SALT LAKE CITY — Zions Bank employees are painting 44 homes in Utah and Idaho this week during the bank's annual Paint-a-Thon service project.
Each of the homes to be painted belongs to low-income residents who are older than 65, veterans or have disabilities.
A dozen local bank employees wearing neon green T-shirts helped paint Betty Pender's house Tuesday in South Salt Lake.
"Not only is the project rewarding for both our employee volunteers and for our homeowners, but it aligns with Zions Bank’s mission to create value in our communities," said David Wenk, Zions Bank private banking relationship manager.
Pender described the event with one word: "overwhelming."
The 88-year-old widow said she bought the house in 1958 after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pender didn't want to live at home with her parents, she said, but she had trouble finding someone willing to sell her a house.
Pender and another single woman, who was a former missionary companion, together bought the house at 2551 S. 300 East and split the cost until Pender married a World War II veteran in 1960.
She has lived in the same white-paneled house for almost 60 years, and raised three children there.
Pender's son, Ben Pender, lives with his family in the same neighborhood and checks on his mother daily.
Nearly 90 percent of people over age 65 want to stay in their home for as long as possible, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute.
"If it wasn’t for (family) living close, I don’t know what I’d do," Betty Pender said. "You just don’t want to live alone. But I don’t mind living alone as long as they bring me supper.”
Local church leader Shawn Marchant has volunteered at the Paint-a-Thon for years and recommended Pender's house for the event.
The annual Paint-a-Thon began in 1991 as a volunteer project for a dozen homes along the Wasatch Front, according to a news release. In 26 years, Zions Bank employee volunteers have painted approximately 1,100 homes.
Volunteers also help landscape by mowing, pruning, planting and cleaning up the yards of the homes. The cost for paint and supplies is contributed by Zions Bank.
More than 2,800 Zions Bank employees volunteered to paint homes during the event, the news release stated.
"It just brings a smile to the homeowner's face," Wenk said.
Gov. Gary Herbert also made an appearance to help paint Pender's house.
“Service is an act of love. I see a lot of love here happening today," Herbert told Pender at the event. “We all have ways of giving back and helping our neighbors.”