craigdailypress.com

For nearly three decades, Jim and Roberta Hume have quietly gone about the business of taking in and raising foster children, more than 70 in all. They did so for as basic a reason as any.

They could.

"We like kids," Mrs. Hume said, "and we figured we had a good environment for them."

So they opened their home to the foster children, year after year, for 28 years.

They're currently being re-certified through Moffat County Social Services, meaning more children will be under the Humes' care in the future.

It's that sense of working on behalf of others that earned the couple words of praise and a standing ovation at Wednesday's honorary volunteer luncheon at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

The Humes were named as the 2006 Volunteers of the Year during the event, a celebration co-sponsored by the city of Craig, Moffat County and Moffat County United Way.

The luncheon coincided with National Volunteer Week.

The Humes were modest about winning the award, and said they were surprised and honored to receive the accommodation.

In modest fashion, Mrs. Hume said the number of kids the two have taken in isn't all that impressive.

"Well, it's been an awful long time we've been doing it, too," she said.

Still, their volunteerism is hard to ignore, United Way director Corrie Scott said. She wasn't bashful in praising the Humes' work as foster parents.

"They may have a child for a day, several months or until the child is returned to their parents or adopted," Scott told the audience. "Their experiences, and the love in their heart for children they have cared for, is why transitions for these children are very successful."

The Humes make every child feel like they are a part of a family, Scott said.

"Not only do they provide a home for a child, they reach out and find resources to help improve the child's life," she said. "Paying for library fines, buying clothes, Christmas presents and everyday needs are just some of the multitude of responsibilities they take on while caring for children."

Social Services director Marie Peer said the 70-plus number of children taken in by the Humes is one of the highest in county history. A typical foster parent may take in anywhere from 1 to 10 children in a lifetime, she said.

"It's very high," she said. "They are wonderful people. ... They are just out of sight."