St. John's Mercy Hospital Co-workers Help Area Families by Collecting Food

"At the McAuley Clinic we serve individuals and families with little to no health insurance. They are people we have come to know and want to help, especially when it comes to making their holidays a little brighter," said James "Jim" Delvaux, manager of the McAuley Clinic at St. John's Mercy Hospital.

Co-workers from every department in the hospital donated nonperishable food items to the drive to help families who are treated at the McAuley Clinic, 851 E. Fifth St. in Washington.

Co-workers in the Environmental Services department collected the food from each department and sorted the items into individual baskets to give to 25 families. Co-workers in the Nutrition Services department purchased and stored turkeys, and members of the administrative staff donated gift cards.

"We gave 25 families Thanksgiving meals, complete with turkeys, and three additional families received grocery store gift cards to help them though the holiday," said Delvaux.

Delvaux helped deliver the baskets of food.  "It was a great pleasure to deliver these gifts, to see the expressions on people's faces as they received them," he said. "Their faces lit up. That kind of response just warms your heart because you know you made a family's holiday that much more enjoyable."