The spirit of the season is alive and well at St. Tammany Health System.
In what has become a holiday tradition, health system colleagues on Monday delivered several car loads of wrapped Christmas presents to the Department of Children and Family Services in Covington, all of which will be delivered to Northshore families in need.
In all, those gifts will brighten the Christmases of 39 local families this year – including more than 100 children – through the health system’s annual Adopt-A-Family holiday program.
As part of the program, Individual departments throughout the health system “adopt” a family, and sometimes more than one, through Family Services, which provides a “wish list” from each.
Health system colleagues then go into elf mode, donating their own money to purchase items from those lists – for children and caregivers alike – after which they wrap each and deliver them to Family Services, which ensures they all find their way beneath the proper Christmas tree.
It’s unclear exactly when the Adopt-A-Family program started, but it is believed to date back at least 15 years. In that time, it is estimated it has reached well over 500 local families.
Scroll down to see photos from the loading up of this year’s gifts – and happy holidays!