Volunteer Spotlight: Blair Leach

Meet Blair Leach, a sales executive at LINQ. Blair is passionate about community engagement and enjoys cooking, lifting weights, and volunteering—most recently with There Goes My Hero. At There Goes My Hero, he’s found fulfillment in supporting blood cancer patients and their families. 

 

Tell us about yourself.  

I am a sales executive at LINQ and have been with LINQ for about 6 months. I’ve lived in Maryland for almost all my life but have been in Baltimore for most of the past 5 years. Outside of my work at LINQ, I enjoy cooking, lifting weights, and volunteering with various organizations in the Baltimore area. My goals currently are to finish my degree in finance, visit every continent, and try to be more engaged with the community in Baltimore. 

 

How did you first learn about There Goes My Hero?   

My roommate Connor introduced me to There Goes My Hero when I started at LINQ, and I went to a go-karting event with some of my coworkers and The Goes My Hero in the fall. 

 

Can you describe what volunteer opportunities you were involved in?  

I made dinner at the Hackerman-Patz House at Johns Hopkins in March, and we served over 30 meals to patients and family members there. My coworkers, some of the team at There Goes My Hero, and other volunteers worked together to make baked ziti, salad, cookies (the no bake cookies gave us a little bit of trouble), and to deliver those meals either to tables or patient rooms. 

 

What inspires you to volunteer to help those impacted by blood cancer?   

I was inspired to volunteer with There Goes My Hero by my teammates at LINQ. Goodwill and Volunteering are pillars of what we strive to achieve as a company and the Hackerman-Patz House and There Goes My Hero mean a lot to my peers and now to me, but I was excited to get involved. I also attended the Chris Rachuba Cup hosted by There Goes My Hero and the testimonials from the Rachuba Family and Mary Kaye were both inspiring to me to keep coming back. 

 

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a volunteer with us?   

The most rewarding part of volunteering is getting to work with my coworkers and the staff at There Goes My Hero. Not only do I get to engage with my peers outside of the office, but also Llewellyn, Olivia, Andrea, and the rest of the team. I love getting to know everyone through working together to support the goals of There Goes My Hero and to learn more about why everyone keeps coming back to volunteer. After one time at the Hackerman-Patz House you get to see how Blood Cancer impacts patients and families and the easiest way to give back is to ensure that these patients and their families get a meal that they can enjoy after treatment. 

 

Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking about volunteering with us for the first time? 

To anyone who is considering volunteering with There Goes My Hero, I cannot recommend it enough to talk to everyone about everything. Talk to the patients if they show interest in talking to you but talk to your fellow volunteers and the team from There Goes My Hero. You get an additional opportunity to touch the lives of others when you take the time to engage with others who are volunteering.  I think it’s a great way to connect with either your coworkers from another department, the team at There Goes My Hero, or other volunteers that you may have never gotten to know in a meaningful way otherwise. 

 

Want to nominate a volunteer for our next Volunteer Spotlight? Contact Olivia at olivia@theregoesmyhero.org to learn more!