Bobbie Spry, RN, pictured with the $400 Wyld Gear cooler donated by Swishers Farm & Home of Warrensburg that she won for Spirit Day. 

Warrensburg, MO (March 20, 2020)— The Western Missouri Medical Center (WMMC) Foundation hosted Spirit Day 2020 on Tuesday, March 17th to celebrate the employees who give back to the WMMC Foundation. The C.A.R.E.givers Club is the employee-giving portion of the WMMC Foundation, which is overseen by the C.A.R.E.givers Committee, a volunteer group of WMMC employees. Currently, there are 97% of employees giving to the Foundation.

Employees are able to join the C.A.R.Egivers Club by donating as little as $25/year or $1/pay period. 40% of all donations are used for a project voted on by the C.A.R.E.givers Committee with help from surveys sent to hospital employees. 60% of the donations are designated to an Employee Relief Fund (ERF), which is used for grants given to employees during a time of need. In 2019, $13,500 was given out to employees needing assistance. Employees do not have to be a member of the C.A.R.E.givers Club in order to be eligible for these grants.

Ashley Holmberg, recipient of an Employee Relief Fund, said, “I received an ERF grant after my mother was in a serious car accident. Driving back and forth from the city, taking time off work, and having my little brother live with me for three months while she recovered was financially stressful. I definitely cried tears of gratitude when I heard someone nominated me and that I would be awarded the grant. It was unexpected and good to know that the people you work with think about you and care to nominate you for the grant in a time of need. I always tell people working here is like working with a big family and receiving the ERF really cemented that for me.”

Each year, the C.A.R.E.givers Committee plans quarterly events to thank those who give back to the Foundation. This year, the committee decided to host a “Spirit Day” on St. Patrick’s Day. This was a time designated for employees to join the C.A.R.E.givers Club or increase their pledge. Rick Swishers of Swishers Farm & Home of Warrensburg donated a Wyld Gear cooler valued at $400, as well as 6 custom insulted cups, that the C.A.R.E.givers Committee was able to offer as prizes to those who were eligible. Bobbie Spry, RN, was the winner of the cooler.

“I just wanted to share how incredibly thankful myself and the WMMC Foundation is to have such an amazing group of employees. WMMC employees are compassionate, giving, and supportive,” said Jake Corson, Chair of the C.A.R.E.givers Committee. “We have accomplished so much over the past 4 years, from the Employee Relief Funds given out to the projects that support our facility, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.”

Since the C.A.R.E.givers Club was established in 2016, over $118,500 has been raised. Funds received this year will assist the WMMC Foundation with its 2020 project, “TogethER: Transforming Emergency Care,” which will assist WMMC in remodeling the Emergency Room. To find out more about the WMMC Foundation, visit wmmc.com/Foundation.