Staff members at Princeton House Behavioral Health’s outpatient center in Moorestown, N.J. have been sharing joy with their co-workers, clients, and the community at large through a bounty of giving and a series of special occasions this holiday season. For example, every year they collect Thanksgiving staples, such as turkeys and a variety of canned and boxed foods, for Oaks Integrated Care, a community-based nonprofit social services agency that works with individuals who have mental illness. Oaks Integrated Care uses the donations to provide Thanksgiving meals to families in Burlington and Camden counties.
This November, the Moorestown staff also unveiled a Gratitude Tree, filling a wall in the main hallway, and invited patients, visitors, and co-workers to add leaves to the tree listing things for which they are grateful. The same tree in December became the Wishing Tree, where patients, visitors, and staff could attach snowflakes sharing their hopes for the new year. One message wished for courage over fear and another read: “I am grateful for another chance.”
Adopting a Grandparent
Employee outreach occurred throughout Penn Medicine communities. At Penn Medicine Radnor, Lisa Magno, Financial Service manager, collaborated with Fair Acres Geriatric Center to “adopt” residents whose families do not or cannot visit them. This year, staff at Penn Medicine Radnor was able to help more than 300 residents!
“Nobody should be forgotten during the holiday season and we make sure they aren’t,” Magno said.