New holiday program helps employees, people in needby Cindy AbolePublic Relations Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays that typically inspire voluntary acts of kindness and gratitude among humanity. But when tragedy strikes or an unexpected emergency descends upon co-workers and their families, it can turn their world upside-down. MUSC employees, their families and needy members of the community now have a place to turn to for immediate help and relief. Beginning this week, as many as 9,000 MUSC employees will have read and learned about a new employee-inspired initiative called MUSC Families First, an employee assistance program set to begin this holiday season. The program offers employees and their families who are experiencing hardships and personal difficulties during the holiday season with a place to go in a discreet and confidential manner. The project teams MUSC with The Salvation Army to manage requests for 3,000 to 5,000 Tri-county families in a discreet method. For individuals who want to participate, the angel tree is a wonderful way to make a difference. “The program is intended to provide some support to those in need, especially during the holidays,” said Elizabeth Nista, MUSC Medical Center. “Eventually, we’d like to see that support grow into a year-round employee assistance fund for MUSC workers in the event of death, catastrophic illness or other emergencies. It’s a wonderful way of helping people out.” The idea was the brainchild of several Medical University Hospital Authority employees and was coordinated under the leadership of Nista and co-worker Marian Taylor. The foundation of the program came from similar employee assistance programs at the University of Alabama Birmingham and statewide Police Benevolent Associations. When Taylor initially polled co-workers about their interest in contributing to a continuous employee support program funded through the Health Science Foundation’s Yearly Employee Support (YES) campaign, MUSC employees responded positively. “Pairing up with The Salvation Army in this program is a plus,” said Taylor. “Their presence in the Lowcountry these past 99 years proves that the need is already there. The MUSC Families First project will guide fellow employees in the right direction.” Employees and their families can apply to the Angel Tree project at Salvation Army offices in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties from Nov. 1-5 and Nov. 8-12. Applicants must provide each family member’s social security numbers, picture IDs of all adults in the household, birth certificates for each child, and proof of residence and income. Families accepted to the program will receive holiday support through meals, toys and gifts. In addition, The Salvation Army also offers clients short- and long-term assistance. “Having MUSC participate in this project is just awesome,” said Sarah Kellinger, development and public relations director at The Salvation Army-Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. “It provides MUSC employees in need with a place to go and participants a chance to help out and get involved with the community like never before.” Beginning this month, Christmas trees decorated with printed angel tags will be set-up and distributed throughout the medical center and campus to allow MUSC employees to help out. Each angel cut-out contains child or adult information including their age, clothing size and suggested gift idea. By Dec. 17, Angel Tree participants can bring their unwrapped gift (with attached angel tag) to the university’s holiday celebration in the MUSC horseshoe from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is at this time that all Angel Tree presents will be loaded aboard The Salvation Army truck and WCSC-TV 5 will be present to report on the activities. For additional information about obtaining angels or MUSC Families First, call Elizabeth Nista, 792-8382 or e-mail nistal@musc.edu. MUSC Families First/Salvation Army applicants must bring the following documents to apply:
Nov. 1-5: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday Nov. 8-12: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday with
Salvation Army/Charleston County
Salvation Army/Dorchester County
Salvation Army/Berkeley County
Friday, Nov. 5, 2004
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