UNMC shows generosity during Adopt-A-Family campaign

Presents from UNMC’s Adopt-A-Family campaign engulf the Christmas tree in the public affairs department. The gifts will be given to two Omaha-area families.

UNMC once again partnered with its Adopt-A-School partner, Monroe Middle School, to help spread some holiday cheer for families in our community.

This year’s Adopt-A-Family departments and individuals made a huge a difference by collecting gifts/gift certificates, purchasing holiday meals or donating money to the chosen families.

Jill Carson, former Adopt-A-Family coordinator and current UNMC Marketing Specialist II, said campus generosity was a key to the Adopt-A-Family success.

“The response to this year’s campaign was overwhelming!” Carson said. “The UNMC community was so generous this year, and I’m sure that the adopted families’ holidays will be brighter because of the generosity of our campus.”

“Each year I am amazed at how our campus responds to this worthy cause.” Jill Carson

Two families, one with six members and one with four, are going to have an amazing holiday season thanks in part to all those who volunteered to help. Gifts donated this year included a CD player, a skillet, gift certificates to grocery stores, an alarm clock, towels, tennis shoes, nail polish, dolls, board games, a football and winter coats.

This year the Adopt-A-Family program had more than 16 participants (departments and individuals) donating items above and beyond the families “wish lists.”

“Each year I am amazed at how our campus responds to this worthy cause,” Carson said. “UNMC is constantly making a difference in communities across our state. It is wonderful to see our faculty, staff and students join together to give a little extra holiday cheer to these families from our Adopt-A-School partner.

“With the amount of gifts that were wrapped and ready to be donated you would have thought they were going to 10 families, not two.”

The Adopt-A-Family success came on the heals of another tremendous sign of campus generosity. The campus food drive, which ran from Nov. 10-24, yielded a record 20,400 pounds for the Omaha Food Bank.