Sacred Heart Thanksgiving Basket Project will Provide Dinner to 1,150 Local Families
Every year since 1979, dedicated PeaceHealth caregivers have organized a collection drive to provide all the ingredients for a full Thanksgiving dinner for hundreds of families facing financial, medical or other challenges. It’s a months-long, PeaceHealth Mission-inspired effort that demands hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of donated food items and dollars—and it’s a true labor of love.
In 2020, a year beset by the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and economic hardship for many, PeaceHealth will be giving away 1,150 Thanksgiving Baskets—the largest number ever. Families are referred by caregivers and community members.
On Monday, Nov. 23, PeaceHealth caregivers—wearing masks and spaced at least 6 feet apart–assembled bags of nonperishable items, including canned yams, cranberries, and other vegetables and fruit, stuffing and gravy mix. Perishables, including a turkey and a pumpkin pie, were added Tuesday, Nov. 24, when the items were given to local families.
“People drive up and we load up their car,” said Tina Noland, supervisor of the surgery department at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and a Thanksgiving Baskets volunteer for the past 12 years. “Usually there are tears of joy and gratitude, and it’s a beautiful day.”
Ever since the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace arrived in Eugene in 1936 to operate Sacred Heart Hospital, PeaceHealth employees have dedicated their time to helping the hungry and those less fortunate during the holiday season. The tradition of providing meals at Thanksgiving began in 1979, and the effort has grown from providing 50 baskets to 1,000 last year.
About PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.
