Moses Lake Community Health Center helps 31 families
Staff members from the Moses Lake Community Health Center helped families celebrate the Christmas holiday by buying groceries and gifts from health center's angel fund. Staff would stay after the health center closed to wrap Christmas gifts.
MOSES LAKE - Angels helped needy families in Moses Lake, Ephrata, Quincy, George, Othello and Warden celebrate Christmas this year.
The Moses Lake Community Health Center staff used their angel fund to help 31 families get into the holiday spirit by buying gifts and groceries and then delivering the items to the families.
The $4,000 fund comes from staff donations collected throughout the year, according to CEO Sheila Chilson.
About 190 staff employees helped out in the health center's second Christmas project, said human resource director Julie Weisenburg.
The Christmas project started last year as a way inspire staff to have an optimistic outlook despite salary freezes, said Chilson.
"It was during a time when we didn't have Christmas bonuses. We were put on salary freezes because of budget challenges. We wanted to work on a project that would inspire staff to be thankful that they had a job," she said.
Weisenburg said she is most impressed by the generosity of the staff members involved.
Staff will wait until the community center closes to wrap the gifts, she added.
"But, it really doesn't surprise me how staff goes far above and beyond what we envisioned for this project when we first started," said Weisenburg.
The health center helped out around 25 families last year, she said.
Recipients of the angel fund were based upon discussions and observations between physicians, dentists, social workers and pharmacists, said Chilson.
"The project allows staff who normally don't work together to get to know each other," she said.
The Moses Lake center, in conjunction with the Quincy Community Health Center and First Presbyterian Church of Ephrata helped a total of 48 families this Christmas.
The project has boosted staff morale, said Chilson.
"The morale of the staff after they get done delivering the gifts and groceries is great. The families are humbled by the act and so the staff are humbled, too. There are so many tears shed throughout this whole process," said Chilson.
She said the health center plans to continue helping families through the angel fund next year.