When you see someone collecting canned food for the hungry, raising cancer awareness or providing home repairs to seniors, you will most likely encounter a HERO (Healthcare Employees Reaching Out), which boasts 2,344 volunteered employees from Memorial Healthcare System.
The premise of the program, which had its humble beginnings in October 2001, aims to match employees with volunteer activities and projects that meet their interests. One of HEROs signature events is the “Adopt” a Child drive, which has provided more than 4,333 children with toys and backpacks in the past five years. Memorial HEROs also collaborate in one of the largest food drives called the “Souper Bowl,” which engages area Broward hospitals in a “friendly” competition aimed at collecting the largest amount of donated food. This year, Memorial employees donated 10,464 pounds of non-perishable foods, which were delivered to several pantries in the Broward area.
Memorial HEROs have participated in a variety of projects and events such as cleaning up beaches, bringing access awareness to the handicapped and notifying mobile home residents when hurricane warnings have been issued. In fact, HERO was highlighted together with other Memorial programs in the prestigious Foster G. McGaw Award for Excellence in Community Service, recently earned by Memorial Healthcare System.
“Some of our HEROs volunteer within our community all year long, helping with Girl Scouts, volunteering at their place of worship, serving meals at local food banks, museums, civic organizations and animal shelters. The list is as endless as their generosity,” said Steve Sampier, who oversees the HERO program and is the director of community services for Memorial Healthcare System.
This year, the HERO program expanded to include the LEAP Squad (Leaders, Enabling, Assisting and Promoting).
“They are the cheerleaders in our facilities, who promote and support HERO projects and events and are involved in details from planning to project execution,” said Lisa King, community volunteer coordinator for Memorial Healthcare System. “You will find them writing articles for newsletters, doing data entry, acting as team leaders at events, posting flyers and promoting employee participation. These dedicated volunteers go that extra mile by taking on a leadership role.”
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