Adam Lueken
The holiday season is almost here. As you prepare for your festivities, this is also an excellent time to give back to the community you serve. Not only can you help others in need, but you can show your practice’s commitment and compassion – which will mean a lot to patients and prospective patients.
This time of year also likely means a hectic schedule for you and your team. But there are a variety of things you can do to help that will fit within your personal and professional commitments.
Community Food Drives
Unfortunately, many families struggle to provide food for their families and rely on the generosity of food banks and drives, especially around the holidays. Food banks in the U.S. vary from small operations serving large rural areas to large facilities that store and distribute many millions of pounds of food each year, and everything in between. But all food banks rely on donors and volunteers to carry out their day-to-day operations. Look for opportunities to help raise donations for food banks in your area. Feeding America®, a nationwide network of food banks, secures and distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through food pantries and meal programs, and leads the nation to engage in the fight against hunger. Visit their website to find a food bank in your community. Holding a food drive is also easy. You simply collect food items at your practice during a set amount of time and then donate them to the bank. You can also consider volunteering at local food banks to help organize and distribute items.
Toys for Tots® Toy Drive
Toy drives are easy and help make the holidays more special for children in need. One example is Toys for Tots – a national toy drive initiative. They oversee donation programs and raise funds to provide toys to supplement the collections of local Toys for Tots campaigns. Drives are held in over 800 communities in all 50 states. Local toy collection campaigns begin in October and last until mid to late December. Toy distribution also takes place mid to late December. Those who wish to donate drop new, unwrapped toys in collection boxes positioned in local businesses. Coordinators pick up these toys and store them in central warehouses where the toys are sorted by age and gender. During the holidays, coordinators, with the assistance of local social welfare agencies, church groups and other local community agencies, distribute the toys to the less fortunate children of the community. Visit the Toys for Tots website for more information on holding a toy drive in your office.
Toys for Tots and Feeding America are just two examples of drives/initiatives. There may be other local organizations in your community that hold toy drives, collect food and have other initiatives to help give back to others – such as clothing donations, fundraisers, etc. Look online and keep an eye out for opportunities that would be a good fit for you and your team. And when you do find some opportunities to give back, do some promotion and get the word out. This will help get patients involved and show the community what you’re doing. Create some flyers, post on your social media and send out a press release.
If you’re looking for some extra support with your community and marketing initiatives, we’re just a quick phone call or click away. Schedule a consultation with one of our practice management experts today!