Some of the many gifts donated for the community in HUP’s annual Holly Days campaign
Thanks to HUP staff, the 2021 holiday season was a little more joyful for patients and families and those in need in our communities.
Through the annual Holly Days program, HUP, Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, and corporate employees made sure 22 families staying at the Interim House residential treatment program received everything on their holiday wish lists and more, including clothing, toys, cribs, and gift cards. They also purchased gifts for 40 seniors at the Centennial Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and for 12 veterans at The Veteran’s Group home, including a KitchenAid mixer, per the home’s request, to make cakes and cookies for the residents. In addition, staff generously donated nearly $7,500 in gift cards to Covenant House, a shelter for teens.
“Once again, the HUP angels showed up. I am always amazed at the generosity of HUP staff,” said Phyllis Murray of HUP Administration, who coordinated the gift collections for more than a decade. (She retired in December and will be missed!)
The HUP Security team and their volunteer helpers distributed 250 bags of food, gloves, and other items to those experiencing homelessness.
Meanwhile, the HUP Security team and their volunteer helpers headed to Center City to distribute food, gloves, hats, and scarves to those experiencing homelessness. They gave out 250 bags in under two hours.
Inside the hospital, patient care teams brightened the halls with their creative entries in the Abrahamsohn Christmas and Easter Committee’s 26th annual tree-decorating contest. The top five winners for 2021 included the whimsical “Silver 11 Split”, which cast the tree as the banana in a giant banana split set against a pink and white candy shop backdrop. The Silverstein 11 nursing team, which cares for patients with advanced lung and liver disease, played off the word “split” as it gets ready to split between Silverstein 9 and Ravdin 9 in early 2022. Another winner, an elegant blood drive–themed tree designed by the hematology-oncology team on Pavilion 14-Center, featured ornaments with the different blood types and QR codes to find the nearest Red Cross blood drive.
The “Silver 11 Split” was one of the winners in the Abrahamsohn Christmas and Easter Committee’s 26th annual tree-decorating contest.
Also in December, the HEADstrong Foundation delivered 300 individually packaged holiday meals for adult oncology patients and a family member at the HUP Pavilion. The foundation was started by 21-year-old Nicholas Colleluori and his family shortly before he died from a blood-related cancer on Nov. 28, 2006, following the Thanksgiving holiday.
From his hospital bed at HUP, Colleluori – a college lacrosse player whose large head had earned him the “Head” nickname as a child – knew how hard it was for families of cancer patients and wanted to do something hopeful for families for years to come, especially during the holidays. Besides the holiday meal deliveries, the foundation provides financial, residential, and emotional support to families affected by cancer.