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People who are literally living in the ashes of these crisis situations
And the foundation has come in and lent a hand and pulled them out of that
I just knew that my world was changing right then and I just didn't know what to do
They trust where their money is going because that trust is built through action
And you see the actions of Community Health Foundation in the facility and in the community
We're more of a family here than we are co workers
She says, it's not what you give it's that you give
The funeral home has called and we don't have the money to even go get his body or his ashes
We were going to have him cremated
The Community Health Foundation began almost a decade ago now
It's an outgrowth of the culture of our health care organization
Many many years ago one of the founding parts of our organization was we believe in caring
for our own
And caring for the community
We saw as a health care organization the need to care for our associates
And what we observed was associates seeing the need to care for other associates
And from that beginning we formalized it into a program, formed the foundation
And today it's the means by which our associates are able to care for each other in an organized
approach and
Community Health Foundation is our outward reflection of our belief system and it's who
we are
So I see it as a ministry
It's service to the community, it's service to our associates and it's about service.
Ultimately that's what we are, a service organization and this is the greatest expression we can
have of that.
About a year ago my father started getting sick and forgetful and just acting different
His doctor said that he was probably in the beginning stages of Alzheimers and he had
cat scans
And it was showing that he was having mini strokes and he was starting to go downhill
and we knew that
But then the Sunday after Thanksgiving this past year he walked outside in the rain and
the dark
And committed suicide
And to say our family was devastated is just a gross understatement
The social services director here at Gordon she's also my friend and she was asking how
we were doing
I said, I don't know what we are going to do. The funeral home has called and you know
we don't even have the money to go get his body
Or his ashes, we were going to have him cremated. I said I don't know what we're going to do
And she said would you like to fill out an application you know
for Community Health Foundation to see if they can help you
That day she called me and said, don't worry about a thing she said
They're going to help you. I don't know how much she said but don't worry because they
are going to help you.
And we were just... and my family was just... you know
Because there are four of us that work here my mother's a nurse here
My sister is a CNA. My nephew is a floor technician.
My grandmother even sits with patients here and
You know but our family is much bigger than that. They didn't just minister to us that
work here
They ministered to my whole family
It was tremendous because then we were able to take care of... we could go get him
You know, we could go get him, bring him home and deal with the shock and the grief
And take care of each other because we had that taken care of
I can't even say what that meant to my family
Tommy Dobbins came to the center and he talked to me and he cried with me
I told him, and I always say that the money meant everything
But he could have sent the money and a card but he came
He sat there and he talked to me and he cried with me. He cried with me.
He called my mother he talked to my sister and my nephew
The fact that he cared when he didn't have to
Community Health Foundation is his job. He didn't have to care like that but he cared
That was more than the money even
The opportunity that I have to do this job
To touch people at the point in their life when they maybe feel alone
And like nobody cares. To show them that there are a lot of people who care for them
To tell them there are hundreds of people praying for them
That thousands of people have given
To make this assistance possible to help them
We try to move people from where they are now to a position where they could be
We call it now to wow
And we try to take people from where they are to where they could be if they had just
a little bit of help
They helped me pay my light bill, get food in the house
my gas bill, my water bill and I had one other bill and they helped me with that
And I really thank them for that because it really helped me
Because I didn't know which way to turn at the time, you know
So that was a blessing, it was a big blessing
People need to help people
There's something about being a human being that is created I think in the image of our
Creator
That drives us to help folks
Most people don't know how to go about it
So they don't do as much of it as they would like to do
But what I've found is that if you show people how they can help someone
Make a real difference is someone else's life
And they can do it without harming their life and they can join with other people to get
it done
I've found they are a lot more willing to do it than I thought they would be
I've been amazed at how willing people are to help other people
People don't realize that a foundation like this helps people all over the state of Georgia
Out of situations. It's just a blessing to have something to belong to and knowing that
you're helping people
I have the privilege of introducing our new associates to the Community Health Foundation
program
Which consists of two funds. The Annual Fund and the Hearts to Hands program
When someone requests assistance the foundation makes payments directly to whomever the money
is owed
For instance if someone is asking for assistance with a mortgage payment or a car payment or
a utility bill
They submit that bill and Community Health Foundation then makes that payment
We are a crisis assistance program we are not a financial assistance program
And sometimes people get a little confused between two
When we say crisis assistance we have to show an unavoidable crisis that has occurred
Our goal is to help people long-term so if they are simply over budget
Or they just have more bills than money that might not be something that will qualify for
our program
Really what we were setup for was to help people in times of crisis
My son had recently lost his job and we did not have a second vehicle
And one morning I got up and my car died on me
And I was just devastated
Without my car I knew that I couldn't go to work.
Without my care I knew that I couldn't continue to work at Southland
I just knew that my world was changing right then and I just didn't know what to do
Community Health Foundation helps out with the idea that that one-time assistance is
going to help them get over a hump
And then they'll be able to pick up and carry on from that point
It is a good feeling to be a part of that
Not just as an administrator but as any associate can be
Because we all, let's face it, are care givers
And to care for each other in that way in our own times of need is amazing
We had another associate who had come to me
She was living in her car
Because she had shared an apartment with her grandmother
Who had a stroke, was hospitalized and unable to return home
When her grandmother discontinued rent payments of course our associate had nowhere to live
And so what Community Health Foundation did
They put her up in a hotel for a couple of nights
She found an apartment they paid her security deposit
Got her utilities turned on
And once that was taken care of she was ok to continue to handle the expenses on her
own
So they really helped her through a rough time
It was emotional because her grandmother was so ill
And she found herself basically homeless
And so without Community Health Foundation I really don't know what might have happened
to her
We don't need to know someone's background
We don't need to know someone's thoughts about politics
We don't need to know what church they go to
We don't ask those kinds of questions
We ask how are you hurting?
How can we help you?
And then we try to see if the best way we can help you
And sometimes that to say ok can do this for you
Sometimes we say we can't do this but we can do this
And we think this might be better
That's what we're about and that's why we do what we do
Associates can sign up and they decide what they want to give
And to which funds they want to contribute
They can contribute to both or they can choose the Annual Fund
Which helps associates as well as community projects
Or they might want to give to Hearts to Hands
Which is in place to help associates only
Another thing that's wonderful about the program is that
All money donated by associates is only used to help individuals
None of the money contributed is used to run the program
To pay the salaries or any of the costs incurred in running that program
We don't want anyone to give out of guilt
We don't want anyone to give out of pressure
We want it to be totally voluntary
We want people to give because they realize that
It will make a difference, not only in someone else's life
But it will make a difference in their life
And it will make a difference in the place where they work
Each individual can determine what they want to contribute
It can be anything from $1, $5, $10
Whatever someone feels comfortable with and led to contribute
The Foundation has helped thousands of people, thousands
In the eight years that I have been here and
The difference it has made in these people's lives is absolutely phenomenal
And that's why I give and why I believe in what I do every day
A wise man once said
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
You may notice that I wear a boomerang almost every day
The boomerang is a reminder to me that whatever I throw out in life
Is coming back to me
Community Health Foundation is a way to throw out good things
And it has brought good things back to our organization
And to many of the people who are working in our organization
That's why we think it's important for all our new associates to see this orientation
video
Because it is a reminder that first of all Community Health Foundation exists
And it exists for you. It's to help you in your time of need
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you need the foundation's help
Please, ask your supervisor or their supervisor to give you an application
Fill it out and turn it in and we'll work with you
And I promise we'll help you if your need qualifies
The second thing is, it does you good to help other people
You know that already. You help people all the time
But one of the things you might not know is how can I help people with my money
And I don't make enough money to really make a difference
But it doesn't take a lot of money.
We have people who give $2 or $5 every time they get paid
We need your help to keep doing this
To ensure that it can continue beyond what we can even think or imagine
To be able to help like that we need our new associates to join us in making contributions
It's not hard to do. In your packet there's information form
Or really it's a contribution form
And it gives us everything we need to start taking that $1, $2, $5 from your payroll check
If you would print your name here
Tell us when you want the money to begin coming out of your check
And tell us how much you want to give
Whether it's $2 or $5, it really doesn't matter
What matters is that everyone give something
And then tell us where you want the money to go
If you'd like for it just to help associates only, put it in the Hearts to Hands
If you'd like to help non-associates put it in the Annual Fund
If you'd like to do both split it up and put some in each place
And then again just list the total you would like deducted each time you get paid and sign
it and turn it in.
That's all there is to it.
We hope you'll help us. It makes a huge difference in the lives of many people every week
And we pray that this would be, this job that you're beginning
Will be a really really significant step for you
And it will be beneficial and meaningful to you for years to come
Thank you, and welcome to the organization.