’Tis the season! The holidays are dedicated to giving, kindness, and community bonds. And that beautiful holiday spirit made its way into our hospital this past month.

The employees of Advanced Surgical Hospital, along with other local physician partners, collected a total of $1,400 internal donations throughout the month of December. Then, inspired by a news story near Uniontown, our team then decided to use these funds and make a donation in honor of our doctors to the Trinity School District food services department.

The Trinity Area School District, in partnership with parents and the local community, prepares students to reach their fullest potential and helps them become contributing members of society. We believe supporting our students as they focus on their studies is one of the greatest gifts any organization or individual can give.

We also believe the Trinity School District food services department is one of the most important operating groups that can support and encourage the student body to reach its potential. The food service staff prepares fresh and healthy meals onsite, and encourages students to develop healthy eating habits and focus on their health. The importance of nutrition in a student’s ability to grow and focus cannot be understated, and is just as important in setting a student up for success as the right grade or an after school activity.

The important of good nutrition and meals helped us make the decision to donate our hospital’s collection of $1,400 to this specific local department. Our contribution was enough to clear all student lunch IOU’s for the entire Trinity School District – and will help to support children who otherwise could fall through the cracks of the school lunch program.

As we look to 2018, we are excited to see what the year holds for our community’s amazing students and future leaders. We encourage everyone who is able to do so to give back to our amazing community this season – it is, after all, the season of giving!