One in Five

Did you know that nearly 1/5 of kids in Nebraska and in Iowa (18% and 16%, respectively) live at or below the poverty line? That's according to KidsCount.org.

One.In.Five.

It’s a statistic our team members take to heart, joining together to do whatever they can to help. Staff at Immanuel, for example, donated, collected and distributed more than 100 complete turkey dinners to families in need, through Lutheran Family Services.

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But employee efforts go far beyond this one, albeit incredible, Thanksgiving food drive:

• Employees at Bergan Mercy took part in the food drive for the Food Bank of the Heartland.
• Staff at Mercy - Council Bluffs collected diapers for Lydia House, in partnership with our on-site child development center Little Blessings. They also took part in a food drive and raffle earlier this month with donations going to the Council Bluffs food pantries and they're in the process of rounding up even more to help pantries prepare for Christmas.
• Team members at Lakeside collected winter clothing to benefit families in the Lutheran Family Services Refugee Resettlement program.
• The Midlands team is also in the middle of a food and toy drive for Child Saving Institute, a diaper drive for the Lydia House, a food drive for the Open Door Mission and a donation drive for a local abuse shelter.
• Our friends at County Memorial Hospital in Missouri Valley collected food and pantry items to fill the Harrison County food pantry and they're raising donations for area schools, including the Missouri Valley backpack program.
• Staff at Mercy - Corning are collecting food and pantry items for two county food banks and sponsoring a coat, mitten and scarf drive for the local churches.
• A food drive for the Schuyler Food Pantry wraps up at Memorial Hospital in Schuyler on Monday.
• And finally, all of our metro-area hospitals are also participating in the Holiday Care program - which collects non-perishable foods through December 9 to deliver to over 350 families in need. All types of non-perishable food is needed, along with items for a holiday meal. You, too, can donate to this great cause - just look for boxes labeled Holiday Care located near the Angel Trees.

The most amazing part of all of these efforts: they're completely driven by Alegent's incredible employees and their dedication to helping the communities in which they live.