‘Tis the Season for Gratitude
Good morning!
For today’s topic, I want to reflect on some annual themes that are most prevalent around this time of year - gratitude and kindness. More specifically, I want to shine a light on the people and businesses who are so considerate of us throughout the year but even more around the holidays.
For the first time ever, we announced in December the amount raised during the Sanderson Farms Championship PGA TOUR event and donated to Friends of Children’s Hospital. In the past, this was done in January, but tournament officials and the host organization, Century Club Charities, decided to bump it up to earlier this week so that it corresponded with the holidays. And I couldn’t agree more that this amazing news – another $1 million raised for Children’s of Mississippi – fits better on the calendar in December.
The generosity shown by many people to make this donation (which brings the total to more than $12 million since 2013) is overwhelming. It means so much. But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to support shown to UMMC during the holidays, especially toward the Children’s Hospital.
In this season of giving, it’s a good time to remember what has been given to our organization. Each of our mission areas is focused on ways to serve and provide for Mississippians. It’s important to know that people notice your efforts and want to show their appreciation through gifts of their time or resources.
Last week, I was honored to participate in a ceremony to celebrate a generous $10 million gift to The MIND Center from Jean Reed Adams. A portion of this gift is directed to a new $10 million campaign to renovate an existing facility to be the new hub of the Center’s growing clinical activities.
And it was just a few weeks ago that we were able to celebrate more support for The MIND Center – a $1 million gift announced last July from Dea Dea Adams Baker to establish a new endowed professorship.
An example of a show of gratitude of a different type is the merry band of “elves” from Friends of Children’s Hospital who come each year to put up Christmas decorations. It’s magical looking in Sanderson lobby and I know our patients – and staff – appreciate it. And the UMMC Alliance, a volunteer organization that promotes goodwill and fellowship to the Medical Center, decked the halls of University Hospital to spread some holiday cheer to our adult patients and their families. Thanks to Debbie Duszak, wife of Dr. Rich Duszak, chair of radiology, for leading this effort.
Two groups that combined time and gift donations are Hogs for the Cause, whose two-day community festival in New Orleans led to a $1.5 million gift to Children’s, and 5th Squad, the group that hiked 4.5 miles to Children’s with ruck sacks on their backs to deliver a massive donation of toys. This is just one of the many toy donations we’ve celebrated over the past several weeks. Some others have been featured on the Office of Development’s Facebook page along with more posts that showcase support we’ve received.
And we are always thankful for patients who show appreciation through gifts to our Grateful Patient Program for the care they received or for the relationship with their care team. The program receives gifts of all levels, often with a story of how much someone felt valued by members of our staff or how they were moved to “give back” to the institution they felt gave them a new lease on life or significantly improved their well-being. Gifts like these hold special meaning.
I believe I speak for more than just myself when I say that these types of expressions of gratitude and kindness – shown to us often as a result of your amazing work and effort – aren’t expected. We aren’t fulfilling our mission so that these types of actions are triggered. We do what we do because it’s needed, it’s our responsibility and because we deeply care for our fellow Mississippians. When they think enough of us to show kindness and gratitude back, then I think those are clear signs that we are making positive steps toward A Healthier Mississippi.