Back to school supplies: MUSC Health pulls together to help local kids

From a unicorn backpack to a bike helmet, school supplies piled up at a gathering of leaders from the MUSC Health - Charleston Division. The donation drive was part of a larger effort called Project IMPACT (Improving Mission Performance and Community Together), led by the MUSC Health - Charleston Division Executive Leadership Council team.

 

“Project IMPACT is a new, unified approach to improve social impact, care team member wellness and workforce development and equity in the Charleston area,” said Tripp Grooms, executive director of operations for MUSC Health - Charleston Division. 

“This program is our divisional leadership’s commitment to improving life for our care team members and community. The back-to-school supply drive was one of the first derivatives of Project IMPACT, and we plan to continue building on this momentum in a number of ways as we get this program up and running.”

The students who will receive the supplies won’t know anything about all that, but they’ll be thrilled to have the markers, pencils, paper and other school supplies they need to get the school year off to a good start. The donations will go to Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties.

Saju Joy, M.D., chief executive officer of the MUSC Health - Charleston Division, spoke about the school supply drive at a meeting with the leadership team. He outlined the challenges some families in the area face.

“In the South Carolina Lowcountry, the public school districts collectively educate about 111,000 students across 150 schools. In Charleston County, 56.6% of students, almost 30,000 students, receive free or reduced-price lunch. In Berkeley County, that’s 61.4%, which is almost 22,000 students. And in Dorchester County, it's almost 50% at 14,225 students,” Joy said. "These numbers help demonstrate the needs in our very own communities."

 

This supply drive is one of the ways MUSC Health is helping those in our community by providing assistance outside of our hospital and clinic walls. Our MUSC Health care team members are  passionate about providing for the needs of those we serve, so it’s no surprise to see this demonstration of generosity from all areas of our teams, Grooms said.

Donors included members of the administrator, director and manager team and represented all facets of the Charleston Division, including Finance, Operations, Ambulatory, Nursing and Legal.

Grooms said Project IMPACT is far from finished. It has a number of other initiatives in the works to benefit the community. “There is much more to come – this is only the beginning.”