Mercy Health donates to schools, community kitchen
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PADUCAH, Ky. (WSIL) Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital is spreading some Christmas cheer with a generous donation.
$10,000 in total will go to Paducah Public Schools, McCracken County Public Schools and the Paducah Community Kitchen to combat homelessness among the student population.
The school districts will use the money to buy gift cards for families in need and the Paducah Community Kitchen will use the donation to provide hotel rooms for families looking for shelter. Part of our mission is to reach out to the underserved communities and improve health where we can there. This is a small drop in the bucket for doing anything we can to address the problem, said director of Community Health Leigh Ann Ballegeer.
Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital gave an early Christmas gift to a pair of local school systems and a local nonprofit.
The health care provider announced a $10,000 donation split between McCracken County Public Schools, Paducah Public Schools and the Paducah Community Kitchen on Wednesday in an effort to address the homelessness problem in the local school populations.
All three groups have seen an increased demand for services as COVID-19 has gone on.
âHomelessness is an issue year-round.
âBut with the colder winter months on the horizon we felt this was a time a donation could make the biggest difference in the well-being of our community, specifically the student population,â said Michael Yungmann, president of Mercy Health- Lourdes Hospital. âThis one-time donation was in the spirit of Christmas and the right opportunity for us to live our mission.â