Transcription:
Campaign, Upcoming Harvest for Hope Market 9/22/2021 Event, Lights of Joy Holiday Parade, and Together We Grow Endowment

Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome to Say Yes to Good Health with Memorial Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole, and I invite you to join us as we discuss the upcoming Harvest for Hope Market on September 22nd, 2021 event, the Lights of Joy Holiday Parade and the Together We Grow Endowment. Joining me is Jennifer Garner. She's the Memorial Hospital Foundation Director of Development. Jennifer, it's a pleasure to have you join us today. I'm so glad to talk about all of these exciting upcoming events. Before we do, tell us a little bit about the Memorial Hospital Foundation, your mission to enhance the health and wellness of the community, charitable giving. Tell us a little bit about it.

Jennifer Garner (Guest): Well, hi Melanie. Thank you so much for having me on today. We really enjoy any opportunity we have to share information about our Foundation at Memorial hospital. We started the foundation in 2015, so we are really kind of a baby foundation. But we are growing rapidly. And I think that says an awful lot about our community and the support that we've received from the community.

Our mission with the Memorial Hospital Foundation is enhancing the health and wellness of our community through charitable giving. So, let's kind of break that down. What does that mean? Anytime we bring in funds, those projects, and those funds are used for Memorial Hospital. They are used for Memorial Medical Clinics. They're used for our Hancock Village Senior Services and for community projects that all impact the health of our community and our region. We are in a very rural area in Illinois. And we have certainly noticed here in Carthage, that our hospital, we offer specialty clinics and, and services, and we've really become kind of a little regional location.

And so the foundation is really proud to service all of those entities and to bring and keep those services available because you know, today rural healthcare is, it's tough. It's tough to keep the funds coming in and little hospitals have closed all over the US. So, we're really proud that our hospital is 70 plus years.

Host: That's amazing. Thank you so much for sharing all of that with us. And as we get into the events that we're going to talk about today, how do you want the community to be involved? What is the foundation looking for in the way of donations, involvement, volunteers? I'd like you to tell us what you want the community to do.

Jennifer: You know what, participation in any shape or form is always what is needed in a small community. You know, the saying it takes a village, it takes a village to help raise kids. It takes a village to make a community stronger. And when you are able to maintain a rural health care facility, like what we have here in Carthage with Memorial Hospital, anytime the community participates, whether it's volunteering, whether it is actual monetary donations, maybe it's just participation, like in our Lights of Joy Parade that we're going to talk about in a little bit, or in our Harvest for Hope Fall Market.

Every time you step up as a community member, and you participate with the foundation, you, in my opinion are just showing your gratitude for rural health care and you are showing this message or providing a message of strength to the community that you want rural healthcare to remain here.

Host: Well, I remember doing one of these for the You Are My Sunshine Campaign and what a great initiative that is. So, as we're talking about upcoming foundation events, tell us about the Harvest for Hope Market on September 22nd. Tell us a little bit about where it is, what folks can look forward to.

Jennifer: Okay. So you said, you mentioned that You Are My Sunshine Campaign. All of the events we're going to talk about today will support the You Are My Sunshine Campaign, which is raising funds for a four season room at our Hancock Village Senior Services. So, the Harvest for Hope Fall Market will be Wednesday, September 22nd.

It will take place here on the lawn at Memorial Hospital from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Obviously, unfortunately, COVID rates are high, and we are not doing any indoor events this fall. So, our events are outside, weather permitting, but we are going to have just a fun fall festival. We have vendors coming in with pumpkin's and mums and caramel apples, and home decor and books and crafts. You name it. It will be a great time. We are inviting the community to come out because it is an outdoor event. We feel safe doing that. It's also an opportunity for our staff members who are here on campus and at our Memorial Medical Building to come over and have an opportunity to do some shopping that they normally don't get to do during the day.

We are also still inviting vendors. So, if you have a home-based business or, you know, whatever it is you sell and you would like to participate with us, we would love to have you. It is a $5 charge that we'll collect the day of, and you can participate just by reaching out to me at the hospital.

Host: How fun. I love fall fests. And if there's a nice chill in the air, that kind of adds and the smells. And like you said, pumpkiny things and crafts and cider. Now, you mentioned that people should reach out to you, tell them how to do that.

Jennifer: The best way to reach me is through my email, which is jgarner, G-A-R-N-E-R@mhtlc.org. And I will be happy to put you on our list of vendors and we are so hoping for a crisp fall day. That would be lovely.

Host: I love that too. Now, where, where do you want the public? If they want to know more about the Foundation and we're going to talk about some of the other events, but if they want to know more about the Foundation itself, where can they go for more information? And what would you like them to know about some of the other projects that you guys are involved in, whether it's fitness, or community health, or really any of these?

Jennifer: Sure. The easiest way to find out information about our Foundation is to visit our hospital website, which is mhtlc.org. There's a foundation tab. You can click on that and you can find out all sorts of information. It shares who our community board members are because we as a hospital foundation have our own board members and we have our past projects are listed.

It talks about the funds that we have raised in the past. It's just a great gathering place for all of the data and information that you could possibly want about the foundation. And I think things, you know, sometimes people are surprised when they find out what our foundation projects have been in the past. In 2015, like I said, we're a really relatively new foundation, the community came together, they purchased a driving simulator that is available for use in all four of our Hancock County High Schools. Again, we talk about being more of a regional hospital as opposed to just the hospital in Carthage. And to me, that's really important for our community to remember. We do have the lovely fitness park that's here on campus and members of the community come out.

They walk the Evans Fitness Path. We have outdoor fitness equipment and it is beautiful, especially in the fall and in the spring when it's a little cooler. In 2017, one of our bigger projects was a 3D mammography machine. And we actually happened to be one of the first smaller hospitals in the region to have that piece of equipment. And, you know, depending on where your mom, aunt, sister, mother, you know, whomever it is, that's coming in for a, a mammogram, what is it wonderful piece of equipment to, to have. We can do imaging that other places weren't able to do. And I love that we can offer those services when we are such a small hospital.

Another thing I'm really proud of, in 2019, we partnered with our Hancock County Addiction Coalition, which is a wonderful group of volunteers in this area, school members, police, legal people, church members, volunteers in the community to address the issue of addiction. And, you know, it's not always a happy topic, but boy, it's one that we need to be talking about.

And we helped the Hancock County Addiction Coalition with raising funds to purchase a Hidden In Plain Sight trailer and room and tent. And it is such an amazing educational tool for our community. And I am so, so very proud of that project.

Host: Wow, you should be proud. What a great foundation. I mean, tomosynthesis, that 3D mammography, what a gift that is to the radiologists and really, ladies, it can help save your life. I'm telling you right now. And you're so lucky to be able to have this piece of equipment. It's, it's advanced technology and Jennifer that's totally awesome.

And you know, the fitness park, that's just great that you have all of these things available and the, You Are My Sunshine Campaign is just an excellent way to really help our older folks in the area. Really, as we wrap up, you mentioned, and I may be just a goof myself here, but the $5 fee for vendors, but you tell us about whether or not there is a fee for people to attend this Harvest for Hope Market on the 22nd and tell us the hours as well.

Jennifer: There is no fee for anyone to come out and enjoy. Like we said, there are going to be plants, flowers, crafts, merchandise, baked goods, whatever you could think would be fall and festive. There will be parking in the parking lot here at the hospital. The $5 fee is only for the vendors. It's from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 2nd. And assuming mother nature cooperates, we are going to have a great time.

Host: Well, I think the weather is supposed to be nice. I'm predicting -

Jennifer: Okay, thank you.

Host: predicting that the weather's going to be lovely for the Harvest For Hope Market on 9/22, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Yes. And people can come and enjoy crafts. I love crafts and people are so clever. Aren't they? They're so creative.

Jennifer: Yes, far, far more creative than I am that's for certain.

Host: myself as well.

Jennifer: And the mums I can tell you, this has been a phenomenal year for mums and we have a vendor coming and they grow their mums here in Hancock County, and they have pumpkins as well, and they are bringing in a trailer load and we can't wait for everybody to come out, get their fall decor. What a great time to do it.

Host: Oh, rock on. The mums are so pretty and so many different colors now. I think that's awesome. Thank you, Jennifer. And you're listening to say Yes to Good Health with Memorial Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole and we're chatting with Jennifer Garner, Memorial Hospital Foundation Director of Development. And we're talking about so many events from the Memorial Hospital Foundation.

So please stay tuned and we'll continue after this quick message about Memorial Hospital. Welcome back to Say Yes to Good Health with Memorial Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. And before the break, we were discussing the upcoming Harvest for Hope Market, which is on September 22nd, 2021. It's at 4:00 to 7:00 PM. It's free to the public and how much fun that's going to be. I know the weather's going to be great.

And we're talking with Jennifer Garner about the Memorial Hospital Foundation. She's the Director of Development. So, Jennifer, now let's talk about the Lights of Joy Holiday Parade. Tell us a little bit about that. I love parades.

Jennifer: Okay. I am so excited for this parade to happen. This is going to be the first of its kind in Carthage, the Lights of Joy Holiday Parade. We want you to bring your tractor, your truck, your side-by-side, lighted, decorated and tinseled. And we are going to line up on Thursday, December 2nd, about 5:00 PM. And we are going to kind of be the opening event for the Carthage Chamber of Commerce Christmas Open House, which takes up, takes place around our historic Carthage Square.

It is going to be such a fun event. I know that there are other holiday parades and people light things up, but we really kind of wanted to speak to our rural roots. And that's why we thought, you know what, this is going to be about tractors. And this is going to be about trucks, antique or new and side by sides because that's who our community is. And we just think this is going to be a great, great experience.

Host: How fun is that? I definitely want to see pictures now. So you mentioned that it's Thursday, December 2nd, but when do people come, do they have to register for this or do they just show up and when and where do they show?

Jennifer: Okay. No, there are lots of, kind of little details about the Lights of Joy Holiday Parade. We are going to have a sponsorship form available again, you can reach me at jgarner@mhtlc.org. And I would be happy to email out a letter and a form if you're interested. Each truck, tractor, side-by-side will be sponsored. And there are multiple levels of sponsorships, you know, for instance, the Shine Your Light, or The Tinsel and Lights and the Merry and Bright, you get the idea, right? We're making this a big festive thing and we will also have signage. We want to really say thank you to everybody that takes, participates in this parade.

We have four arches, that we will place down on the Hancock County Courthouse Square. Those will also be available for sponsorship, but the people who participate in the parade, your names will go on signs depending on your sponsorship level. And then on the arches and oh, we just want to light up town. We really do want to do something magical and different.

Again, all entries need to have a sponsorship. So, this is kind of one of those unique things where maybe you know, someone who has a tractor or a truck or a side by side, but they want to be sponsored by someone. So, if you have like a group of neighbors that wants to go together and do the sponsorship and put the tractor in, that's also completely fine. We would love to see a hundred participants in the parade. We just think that's our goal number and it would be so fun for the town.

Host: And what about businesses? They can sponsor these as well. Yes?

Jennifer: Oh, yes, absolutely.

Host: And, you know, people, Jennifer, they want to know when you say sponsorship and levels, let's put it out there. What are you hoping for? What are some of the levels that are available to sponsor?

Jennifer: Okay. So our Shining Star Sponsorship, which is like our big sponsorship, is a thousand dollars. And again, all of these funds, I just like to remind the community, all of these funds that we raise are going towards this year's campaign, the You Are My Sunshine Campaign for the four season room at Hancock Village.

We love our seniors. It's been a tough year with no indoor events. So, we really want to make a big push so that we can get the sunroom built for our residents. COVID has been so hard on them. So, absolutely the Shining Star is a thousand dollars. We go all the way down to the Tinsel and Lights, which is a hundred dollar sponsorship. We don't want to exclude anyone because of cost of a sponsorship. So, if you have a donation you would like to make, because you, you love our senior residents and you want to offer that as your contribution to the four season room. That is also completely fine.

Host: Well, thank you for sharing that and who doesn't love our seniors. And as you said, what a tough year, I mean, it was a tough year for these seniors and it was a tough year for all of us. Let's be out there about that. But for our seniors, you know, it was what was more interesting and quarantine and just sad in a way. So, what a great initiative and what a great campaign and come on, people sponsor somebody because it's really helpful. And we all do love our seniors. And now I want you to tell us about the Together We Grow Endowment. How did this come about? And what worthy the project to fit the mission of the foundation will this one support?

Jennifer: Absolutely. I think that the Together We Grow Endowment says something about the strength of our Foundation, about the strength of our hospital and our clinics, and also about the strength of our community. My Executive Director and I attend a quarterly meeting with other fundraisers in the region, and we had some education a few weeks ago, and it was a high powered attorney from New York. And this is what she does. And she said, her last point, and this just hit home with me. It was just so impactful to hear her say this, "the sign of a strong organization, the sign of an organization that is truly invested in the health of their communities, is when you have an endowment." And I looked at my Executive Director, Greta Wetsel and we just smiled at each other because this little group who started our foundation in 2015, had the foresight right from the very beginning to say, okay, we're going to have a foundation. We're also going to immediately start an endowment fund. So what is an endowment fund? Think of it as a financial asset for our hospital, for our clinics, for Hancock Village, our senior services and for our community, maybe we need a big piece of equipment and the endowment's able to help purchase that.

Maybe, fingers crossed in our future, we will be able to provide scholarships out of that endowment fund. It's like this safety net that if something is needed and necessary, we can help purchase that. We can help be there financially to support whatever those needs might be. So, the Together We Grow Endowment, we, we loved that name. It was the name of our campaign and it was just so fitting, you know, here we are again in rural Illinois and oftentimes, our employees are people who grew up here, or this is their home. And we want to continue pulling in our local kids into rural healthcare. It's, it's such a need across the United States.

Why not let our kids grow up and come back and work here. So, that Together We Grow theme is really a powerful statement of how we feel about our community. And just again, as the Foundation supports so many different entities through that mission of, of enhancing health and wellness in our communities, through that charitable giving.

Host: Isn't that wonderful and really you're so right on with that, we need healthcare. We need kids to come back to their town and serve their communities and, and help our seniors and help in the healthcare field. That's just wonderful. Now, when people do help with the Together We Grow Endowment, can they pick where their money goes? Does it go into one fund? And then you guys disseminate it? Speak a little bit about how you decide where this money goes.

Jennifer: Typically, we allow our donors that option. So, you know, we'll be sending out end of the year mailings, for instance, in October and on that form, they're going to have the option of donating. They can donate directly to the You Are My Sunshine Campaign. They can donate to the Together We Grow Endowment. If it comes into the foundation, just, you know, Memorial Hospital Foundation, a portion goes into the endowment and then a portion goes into the other account and it, we really want that option on all of our forms, all of our brochures, because you know, everybody has a different, a different love in life. If you have a loved one who passes away and you leave a memorial to the Memorial Hospital Foundation in honor of, you know, whomever, it was, let us know what they wanted. Maybe sometimes that goes back to, if they were a resident at Hancock Village, maybe that goes back to Hancock Village so that we can do something necessary for them.

They have a wishlist that they come to the foundation with and say, okay, you know, here are the next five things that we think would really have a great impact on our residents and their, their living and the vitality of them. And so we know if memorials come in, we can say, oh my gosh, well, let's use this memorial money for that specific thing.

So, you can be restricted, that's when you tell us exactly where it goes or a donation can be unrestricted, which is kind of where we decide what's a need most. And I do want to say something too, because a lot of foundations, you have to pay administrative fees or salaries out of those funds that are raised.

And that is not the case with the Memorial Hospital Foundation;100% of the money your donations, your memorials, that money all goes directly back into our project, our campaign, or where you wanted that Memorial money to go. So I think that's really, really critical for our community to hear that, you know, 100% of what is donated goes back to where it needs to be used.

Host: That's wonderful. What a great endowment and all these campaigns. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for joining us today and really telling us about all these exciting events coming up and ways that people can get involved in the community, ways that people can donate, volunteer, be involved. It's just all wonderful.

And thank you so much for joining us today. That concludes this episode of Say Yes to Good Health with Memorial Hospital. For more information on the Memorial Hospital Foundation, you can learn about the Harvest For Hope Market, which is on the 22nd of September from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, you can learn about the Lights of Joy Holiday Parade and the Together We Grow Endowment; please visit the website mhtlc.org/foundation. You can also call 217-357-8502. And for more health tips and to listen to some of the podcasts that we have, please go to mhtlc.org. We'd like to thank our audience for listening. Thank Jennifer for joining us today. I'm Melanie Cole for Memorial Hospital. Have a great day