Employees reach out with special seasonal giving
Although the tradition of giving to others is common during the holidays,
many
Emory employees raised seasonal generosity to an uncommonly high level
during
the recent holiday season. People with AIDS, the homeless, the sick and
the
needy were all beneficiaries of holiday service projects planned by Emory
offices, divisions and departments. This generosity took various forms
including collecting canned goods and mounds of toys; hanging garlands
and
decorating trees; and even walking for a leukemia patient. These photos
represent some of the many employee projects planned during the holiday
season.
The homeless and the hungry
Holiday gifts often take the form of the extravagant: those gifts that
we'd be
too embarassed to buy for ourselves. But for some the basic necessities
are
extravagant. Several offices focused their holiday generosity on the
poor,
homeless and hungry. The General Libraries and Institutional Advancement
collected and delivered canned goods to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The
central office of the Institutional Advancement Division sponsored a
needy
family in Jonesboro referred by the Family Ministries Program of Red Oak
Methodist Church in Stockbridge. Health Sciences News and Information
collected
items for the Atlanta Women's and Children's Day Shelter. Offices in the
Law
School collected items for the Task Force for the Homeless. Facilities
Management sponsored a toy drive for Nicholas House, a long-term shelter
for
families. Campus Life collected toys and canned goods for the needy at
their
annual holiday party.
Healing the sick
The strain of a serious illness or disability during the holidays can
dampen or
diminish the spirit of the season. Many offices chose to channel their
generosity toward the ill, especially those living with AIDS. The
outreach
committee of the Rollins School of Public Health adopted a family
severely
affected by the disease. Boxes of food, bags of clothing, toys, books,
stuffed
animals, sheets, towels, household items and $100 cash were collected for
the
family, which is made up of an unmarried 17-year-old mother of two
children,
ages two and three, and the mother's brother. The mother has AIDS and is
dependent on her brother, who is going to school and working part-time to
support the family. Jane Price, chair of the Outreach committee,
discovered the
family through the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.
The
committee also collected more than $1,000 for a public health student who
was
in a severe financial crisis and on the verge of homelessness due to his
wife's
critical illness. The Goizueta Business School Alumni Office collected
items
for a mother and child with AIDS.
OUTstaff, the organization for gay, lesbian and bisexual staff members,
decorated the Jerusalem House, a residence for people with AIDS. Their
visit
included decorating three Christmas trees and three common rooms in the
house
as well as a potluck dinner.
The Health Sciences Center Library including the Grady, Emory Hospital
and
Yerkes branches, raised money to support employee Linda Seals in a
marathon
(26.2 miles) that she is walking to benefit a leukemia patient through
the
American Leukemia Society.
Emory Hospital erected an "Angel Tree" outside the hospital auditorium
covered
with stars representing families identified as needful by the Social
Services
Department of the hospital. Departments picked a star and worked to fill
the
needs requested by the family.
Hospital Education Services provided food supplies and personal hygiene
products to Hospitality House, a home-away-from-home for people with
modest
means to stay if they have a family member in an area hospital.
-- Matt Montgomery