Bradley team aids local family of 12

Last holiday season, the Bradley campus of The Hospital of Central Connecticut worked with Southington Social Services to make it a memorable holiday for one local family.

Crystal Gilbert, operations coordinator for the Bradley campus, contacted the Social Services department to adopt a family for last year’s Christmas, which the nursing departments at Bradley do every year.

“Because of the family’s size, no one had adopted them yet,” said Gilbert. “So when I said we would take them, Social Services was so happy. The family did not ask for really anything specific so it made getting gifts even more fun for the staff.”

Gilbert put up gift tags of various items on her office door, which staff members used as a gift-giving guide. Within two weeks, the nursing departments gathered 10 to 15 gifts per child and gifts for the mother and father, but the gifts didn’t stop there. The departments also received $350 worth of gift cards to Stop & Shop and ShopRite and obtained season passes to Lake Compounce for the entire family.

Other departments at Bradley that support the nursing staff also contributed. Deborah Venditto, RN, N3, collected the Stop & Shop gift cards and Lori McGourn, RN, ED, collected money to go toward the season passes.

“The Bradley staff is like a small family,” said Gilbert. “We all came together to help out and it was a great morale booster for all of us. I delivered the gifts to Southington Social Services on the Tuesday before Christmas and they were so amazed at everything we had done for this family – they were in tears.”

“This is what we do at Bradley. We may be small, but we have huge hearts.”