At Lee Health & Rehab Center, our employees are encouraged to join one of the employee committees. One committee is our “Hope for our Community”, which plans, hosts, schedules and participates in a variety of events of interest, for those in our community. This includes Health Talks, informational session regarding Medicare and Medicaid, and our ‘Trim Your Tree’ holiday festival.
One of our ‘in center events’ was hosting a fundraising event for Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry.
On November 5th, we sponsored a $5 lunch event while reaching out to local business, offices, and schools. We were pleased to have Sharra Kegan, a year-round Operation Christmas Child area coordinator, with us that day to inform lunch purchasers of the impact of the Shoebox Ministry and how their donation would be used by the ministry. A total of $250 was raised for Samaritans Purse.
As a community service project for Lee Health and Rehab’s H.O.P.E. team, Brandi Barnette, Social Service Director, and Laurie Hawkins, Activities Director, traveled to Boone, North Carolina to the regional Operation Christmas Child processing center. Brandi and Laurie took part in the final processing of the Christmas Shoeboxes before they are shipped overseas. The processing center is an enormous warehouse buzzing with continuous activity from 9 am until 10 pm, 7 days a week. The center processes over 55,000 shoeboxes a day! Brandi and Laurie were part of the team processing shoeboxes that would be delivered to Togo and Uganda.
Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry is more than just toys in a box for children in other nations. It was a humbling and heartfelt experience, knowing that simple gestures of kindness and love can have a profound and lasting impression on others. Numerous shoeboxes contained personal messages and photographs of the ones that packed it. There were prayers and wishes for health and happiness sent for the recipient.
The HOPE team, at Lee Health and Rehabilitation, encourages others to reach out to those in need, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. Be a part of something amazing in your community, this is how we make the world better for all.
