Good Shepherd Health Care System Launches 12 Days of Giving
For 12 Days Good Shepherd Health Care System employees and Community members are giving back to local charities that give to others throughout the year. Pictured here are Kelly Sanders, VP of Human Resources, and Catie Brenaman, GSHCS Community Health Educator, collecting donated items that will be given to local charities.
HERMISTON, OR – For twelve days, beginning on Monday, November 28, Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) is giving back to community charities through an employee giving campaign that community members can take part in too.
Following “The Twelve Days of Christmas” Christmas carol, two GSHCS employees, Catie Brenaman from the education department, and Devin Goldman from the quality and customer experience department, rewrote the lyrics to the song giving it a new focus. Rather than getting, employees and community members are encouraged to give!
Each day has a specific 12 Days of giving emphasis that supports a specific charity organization in our community. Of course to accomplish this the lyrics of the carol had to be somewhat adapted, but still fun and full of alliteration. “It was a lot of fun”, sang Ms. Brenaman and Ms. Goldman, in reference to developing their own unique set of lyrics, “We wrote the lyrics of the song to fit the specific needs of the charity we’re emphasizing on each of the 12 Days while still trying to keep some of the original elements which make the song so fun. So there’s still a partridge in a pear-tree if you’re curious to know.”
An example can be found on day one, Monday, November 28, Partridge in a Pear Tree; today calls for a partridge for your tree. Partridges are tough catches, you see. The bird flew the coop, leaving nothing behind but some sweet Bartlett pears, the very best kind. Please bring non-perishable food items today. According to Breneman and Goldman, each day has the same theme as the original song but tweaked to fill a specific need of a charity in the community.
And to increase participation on social media Brenaman and Goldman created a hashtag for the event, “#GSGivesBack.” For those not in the know, a hashtag allows others to find a specific topic on social media and allows more participation by allowing social media followers to identify themselves or their contributions using the hashtag. “We really want our community to have as much fun giving as our employees do every holiday season,” harmonized Brenaman and Goldman.
When asked what charities will be recipients of donated items Brenaman and Goldman chorused, “We’re going to be collecting non-perishable food items for the Agape House, supporting Domestic Violence Services, Clearview Mediation Medical Loan Closet, Eastern Oregon Humane Society, Umatilla/Morrow WIC, Desert Rose Ministries, iCan Bike, Hermiston Warming Station, Friends of Hermiston/Umatilla/Stanfield Libraries, Christmas Express, and the Stanfield Food Basket.”
Each day is a new theme but Brenaman and Goldman said in unison, “We don’t want that to stop anyone from giving and really, if you have an item you are able to contribute, bring it by on any day you can from Monday, November 28 through Friday, December 9. Donation boxes will be available under the tree at the main lobby of the Hospital and in the Medical Group main lobby at the south end of the building.
For more information on the 12 Days of Giving campaign please visit www.gshealth.org/12-days-of-