800 Backpacks Filled With Supplies at St. Joseph's Hospital
June 14, 2016SYRACUSE, N.Y. (June 14, 2016) – The Auxiliary of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center filled over 800 backpacks today with donated school supplies as part of its annual “Operation Backpack for Our Kids” Program, which fills and distributes backpacks full of school supplies to St. Joseph's pediatric outpatients. Thousands of notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, rulers, tissues, folders and crayons have been donated by St. Joe's employees and Auxiliary members.
(Auxiliary Members fill more than 800 backpacks with school supplies for Syracuse youth)
This is the 12th year of the Auxiliary’s Backpack Program, and this is a new record number of backpacks that are able to be filled through this initiative! Hundreds of elementary students will gather at St. Joseph’s Primary Care Centers over the summer to pick out their new backpacks for the coming school year.
“The mission statement of St. Joseph's Hospital Health has always been that we are passionate healers. The joy that we bring by distributing over 800 backpacks to children and their families, is the kind of genuine concern we have for others. This is a core value of who we are as an auxiliary, and as an extension of St. Joseph's Health and their continued mission.” said Colleen Prossner, Operation Backpack for Our Kids Chair and Auxiliary Board Member .
The Auxiliary is an organization of approximately 600 men and women dedicated to serving the needs of St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center. Dating all the way back to the establishment of the hospital, the group currently has more than 30 committees and service projects and is directed by a volunteer board. The Auxiliary has introduced many services to St. Joseph's over the years including the coffee bar, shopping cart, the gift shop, baby photo service, television/telephone rental, and vending machines. The Auxiliary works closely with the hospital's Volunteer Office, and many Auxiliary members serve as hospital volunteers.
About St. Joseph’s Health
St. Joseph’s Health is a non-profit regional health care system based in Syracuse, N.Y., providing services to patients throughout Central New York and northern Pennsylvania. From primary to specialty to home care, to our Magnet-recognized hospital, and in collaboration with our community partners, St. Joseph's Health is advancing the health of the communities we serve through an expanding range of healthcare services to ensure our patients achieve optimum long-term health. Ranked by Consumer Reports among the top 15 heart surgery centers in the country, U.S. News “Best Regional Hospital” and a 15-time winner of the National Research Corporation Consumer Choice award, St. Joseph’s is widely recognized for quality, value and delivering the highest patient satisfaction. St. Joseph’s Health is affiliated with Franciscan Companies and St. Joseph’s Physicians and is a part of Trinity Health.