For Kelly Blount, volunteering has never been about checking a box or filling spare time. On any given afternoon, she might be helping a student with homework, planning a fundraiser or connecting families with resources that make life a little easier. That commitment earned Kelly the 2026 Voices of Vision Award from Women100 and Indian Hill City Lifestyle for her leadership and impact across the community.
“Receiving the Voices of Vision Award was an incredible feeling,” she says. “No volunteer gets involved in an organization for any sort of recognition.”
Instead, Kelly views service as a responsibility. She believes strong communities are built when people consistently show up for one another, whether through mentorship, education, food assistance or simply listening without judgment.
Her passion for giving began early. As a child, she remembers wanting to help every person experiencing homelessness she encountered while traveling with her family.
“As I grew older, I learned giving doesn’t always mean money,” she explains.
Over time, that childhood instinct evolved into a broader understanding of what service and support can look like.
After joining the team at General Electric Credit Union (GECU), Kelly found an outlet for that passion through the company’s GECU Cares volunteer initiative. The program introduced her to organizations across Greater Cincinnati and helped her discover causes that felt deeply personal, including Meals on Wheels, Pink Ribbon Good, NEST Community Learning Center and the Ben Morrison Memorial Fund.
Today, she serves as Senior Program Marketing Specialist at GECU, where she oversees financial education programming, scholarship initiatives and community giving efforts.
“I feel so lucky every day that my work aligns with my personal values of intentional connection, shared responsibility and consistent action,” Kelly says.
Her connection to the NEST Community Learning Center became especially meaningful after moving to Loveland. Through her volunteer work, she learned many students in the program lived just down the street from her own neighborhood.
“I could not think of a better way to make an impact than supporting students who are quite literally my neighbors,” she says.
As the youngest serving member of the NEST Community Learning Center Board, Kelly helps plan and execute the organization’s signature Dancing With the Stars fundraiser while sometimes volunteering with students through its after-school programming.
“This year, several students graduated out of reading intervention and gained confidence in their abilities,” she says, adding that those changes help students build confidence, enjoy learning and believe in what’s possible for their future.
Kelly also serves in leadership with the Junior League of Cincinnati, where she helps coordinate volunteer opportunities and encourages others to get involved in their communities.
Her most meaningful volunteer moments often come in quiet exchanges: a student gaining confidence, a family finding support during cancer treatment or someone simply saying thank you. Those moments are what stay with her long after the volunteering ends.
“Sometimes people just need a little extra love, support and someone who is there for them on both the bad days and the good,” she says.
For Kelly, that belief guides every hour she gives, every relationship she builds and every community she helps strengthen.
“Sometimes people just need a little extra love, support and someone who is there for them on both the bad days and the good.” -Kelly Blount