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Community Health Network volunteers will tackle indoor and outdoor issues for IPS school #14 on United Way's Day of Caring

For release on August 25, 2011

Indianapolis, IN---More than 250 employee volunteers from Community Health Network will give of their time and money when they descend on IPS School #14 (Washington Irving Elementary School) on August 26 and 27, as part of the United Way’s annual Day of Caring. Community Health Network is a title sponsor of the Day of Caring.

Besides basic clean up in the school yard, Community volunteers will create shade on the playground , paint playground equipment, as well as the playground itself, and install benches and metal basketball nets. Inside the largest IPS elementary school, Community employees will paint one entry wall with a mural depicting the students and the school’s mascot, a hornet. In addition, the volunteers will repair and improve the school’s family resource center and the teachers’ lounge, outfitting the rooms with a new washer, dryer, refrigerator and microwave. Finally, Community will supply school uniforms and supplies to students.

“The start of school this year was the best one we’ve had in awhile, thanks to Community Health Network,” said Josette Jackson, a social worker at the school. “Many of our students do not have the resources they need, and many parents were very relieved that the staff at Community will donate school uniforms and supplies. They were also comforted to know that a new washer and dryer were in place if they need to have uniforms cleaned.” Jackson added, “For some parents, the start of a new school year can be stressful, but this year Community Health Network brought smiles to the faces of teachers, students and their families, with their plans to improve the school.”

Community Health Network employees who are volunteering at School #14 are part of a major network employee volunteerism initiative recently launched, called Serve 360°. It grew out of the hospital’s mission statement, which focuses on a lifelong commitment to the community-at-large.

“Volunteering and sharing our time with others is about doing good for people, providing for those who are in need,” said Linda Hajduk, Serve360° leader and vice president of organizational effectiveness at Community. “Our work at School #14 is an example of how, in just a few hours of focus, we can change the lives of 600 students.”

Community also has stationed bins at each of its hospitals, professional buildings and pharmacies to collect uniforms and school supplies, so members of the public can also donate to the school.

About Community Health Network
Ranked among the nation’s most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana’s leader in access to innovative and compassionate healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, in convenient health pavilions and doctor’s offices, in the workplace, at schools, in the home and online. As a non-profit health system with multiple sites of care and affiliates throughout Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, acute care and specialty hospitals, surgery centers, physician offices, home care services, walk-in care centers and employer health services. To put the needs and the convenience of patients first, Community pioneers advanced treatments and world-class health information technologies, with a focus on ease of access to exceptional care.

Lynda de Widt, Media Relations
Lynda de Widt
Media Relations