Employee donation fund provides food baskets, blankets and gifts to 108 needy families
VISALIA – Families in Farmersville and Woodlake were among 100 families to receive holiday food baskets, blankets and Christmas gifts from Family HealthCare Network (FHCN) last week.
In all, 108 families from the communities of Cutler-Orosi, Hanford, Porterville, Farmersville, Terra Bella, Tulare, Traver, Visalia, Goshen, and Woodlake received the donations on Dec. 4. Staff and volunteers were busy preparing the baskets to be given away as part of the organization’s Anita Fund, a tradition of FHCN for over 25 years. Through the Anita Fund, FHCN employees donate on a monthly basis from their personal paychecks to provide annual holiday gifts and food baskets to support patients in need.
“The Anita Fund is a very special tradition of our organization, and continues to be an impactful opportunity for our staff to support the communities that are the very foundation of FHCN,” stated FHCN President & CEO Kerry Hydash.
Recipients of the gift and food baskets are patients of FHCN, nominated by clinical providers and other staff of the Network. The gift baskets included fresh produce donated by the Community Food Bank of Central California. FHCN also received support from the Walmart Distribution Center. Family HealthCare Network staff donations collected throughout the year also enabled FHCN to provide fresh whole chickens, canned foods, blankets, and gifts for children in each family.
Community health representatives, along with community volunteers, began preparing the gift baskets at the organization’s corporate office in Visalia on Sunday, Dec. 3. On Monday, Dec. 4, FHCN staff also volunteered to distribute the baskets along with Santa, to offer children a special holiday experience. Distribution to families occurred at FHCN’s corporate office in Visalia, the FHCN Resource Center in Porterville, at Self Help’s Villa de Guadalupe in Orosi, and FHCN’s new Hanford Health Center.
Family HealthCare Network is a private nonprofit organization that operates 23 sites, 19 of which are federally qualified health centers located throughout Tulare and Kings Counties. Their mission is to provide quality health care to everyone in the communities they serve.
For more information about Family HealthCare Network, please call 1-877-960-3426, or visit their web site at www.FHCN.org, like them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/fhcn.org or follow them on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/FHCN.
