WVU Medicine WVU Hospitals (WVUH) and the Care Management Department have established one of the finest traditions of the holiday season.
Tapping into the seasonal sentiment of giving and helping others, WVUH started the Employee Holiday Assistance Program more than 20 years ago to provide holiday cheer for employees and their children.
The program, organized by Care Management, asks departments and staff to donate gifts for employees who otherwise might not be able to afford them.
Last year, the program was able to enrich the holidays of a record 138 children from 79 families, according to Tiffany Yanuzo, director of Care Management. This year, families may have been hit even harder because of the pandemic, but employee generosity has not wavered, Yanuzo said.
“We’ve had 119 children from 64 families this year,” she said, “but it seems like people contributed a little bit more and went the extra mile to make sure these kids have a great holiday. I think for a lot of us, it was a positive, uplifting project to focus on in these stressful times.”
To be eligible, employees are asked to complete an application and submit it with a “wish list” for each child to Care Management. The lists include essential items like clothes, but also toys and other fun items. Applications are reviewed for eligibility and the children are then matched with sponsor employees or departments. Sponsors also donate new wrapping paper, bags, bows and other holiday accessories so the parents can see the items and wrap them. The gifts are then distributed to the families. Because of the pandemic, the process is slightly different this year as the gifts are quarantined for seven days to ensure safety before pick up.
But the warmth this holiday tradition brings has not changed.
“I have been fortunate to have been a part of this for eight years now, and each year, I continue to be amazed at the generosity and creativity of our employees in helping us put this program together,” Yanuzo said.
“I have to say a very special thanks to Michele Kelly, in Care Management, who has been orchestrating this program for more than 15 years.
“What makes it all worthwhile is to see the faces of the employees who pick up the gifts and just cannot believe what people they do not know have done for them. There are always tears and smiles that I wish everyone could see.”
