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MUSC ‘angels’ prepare Christmas for others by Sarah McLaughlin Public Relations MUSC employees have already made this year’s MUSC Angel Tree program a huge success by helping organizers reach their goal of distributing more than 2,000 angels. In the past month, the program coordinators, Liz Nista and Marian Taylor, distributed angel cut-out tags to those on campus who want to bring cheer into the homes of less fortunate families this holiday season. These tags represent needy children or individuals whose holidays will be made better through the generosity of gift donors.      The MUSC community will be able to celebrate the success of this program and its good cause on Dec. 16 as the donated presents are paraded to the Horseshoe. Between 1 and 2 p.m., everyone is invited to come, enjoy the live disc jockey, and show the media how much support is behind the program. Meducare will carry its gifts in on ambulances with the lights and sirens going to add to the excitement. Many recall last year’s celebration, when Transfusion employees brought seemingly endless push carts full of toys to the Horseshoe.   Some of the members of Family Medicine supporting MUSC Angel Tree include Stella Seals (kneeling), from left, Evelyn Brown, Lois Jenkins, Dr. Carolyn Theidke, Linda Houston, and Deb Adams. “Everyone was in tears,” Nista said. “These are employees who give everyday of the year.”    Various sectors of MUSC get into the spirit by organizing departmentwide fund-raisers, shopping for gifts throughout the year, and decorating their halls and offices with the paper angels. The excitement and spirit of giving is evident in the way MUSC employees talk about their participation in the program.    “I think it brings us more joy as givers to know that a child will find happiness on Christmas morning,” said Deborah Adams, R.N., Family Medicine nurse coordinator. Family Medicine will be providing about 100 children with presents this holiday.   Other off-campus areas of MUSC, such as West Ashley and Mount Pleasant locations, join in this effort, connecting the campus and its employees in a large effort to further reach out to a community it serves everyday.   The CTICU sold bowls of chili to coworkers for lunch, raising $150 to be spent on purchasing presents for their angels.   Louise Rogers of Meducare left the angels out on a table for any interested employees, and every angel quickly disappeared.   “This is a really giving group. Anytime any need is mentioned, they are there. They live that life everyday,” Rogers said.   Rutledge Tower employees took the highest number of angels this year, which now decorate the halls and Christmas trees throughout the building. The energy around this program can not be ignored at 159 Rutledge avenue, where the scheduling staff, such as Patty Tisdale, has been preparing for the Angel Tree program all year. Every Friday, the employees can pay $1 to wear jeans, and the $1,000 that was raised this past year is now used to buy the angels’ presents.    “I’m probably going to start crying. You just don’t know how touched we get,” Tisdale said, as she attempted to explain her involvement and last year’s memory of a woman crying upon seeing the pile of presents that were donated to them.      MUSC is the single largest contributor to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. The coordinators of the program encourage everyone in the MUSC community, with or without gifts, to come to the program’s celebration on Dec. 16. MUSC employees may also drop presents off at any Wal-Mart in the Debi’s Kids Angel Tree boxes. Those interested in offering additional support may assist the Salvation Army in packing, preparing, and distributing the gifts at their West Ashley location.   For further information about helping the Salvation Army, call 747-5271, ext. 15. Any questions regarding the MUSC Angel Tree program should be directed at Nista at 792-8382 or nistal@musc.edu.   Friday, Dec. 9, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.