BEND, Ore. — On Christmas Day, 1917, five nuns boarded the Pennsylvania Railroad in Kokomo, Indiana, and headed west. They answered a frontier priest’s call for help to provide care for the people summoned here by seemingly endless land, sky and opportunity. They came to provide care where it was needed most—and to do it in a spirit of love and compassion.
The sisters were resolute in their creed: they would care for all, or they would care for none.
Their story is our story. It is not just the beginning of a place, but a foundation of trust and a tradition of caring that has lasted a century. It is the story of the many people who have served—and the many lives they have touched.
To celebrate St. Charles’ centennial anniversary, to give back to the community and to carry on the tradition of “caring for all,” the health system is asking its caregivers and community members to join in monthly community acts of caring.
The goal of the program is to donate quantities of 100 or more of the monthly item to the campus-specific beneficiary. Donation barrels have been placed in the Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond hospitals and will remain there throughout the year. These barrels will serve as the collection place for the monthly item. Each barrel will include information about the monthly item and its beneficiary for that month.
New or gently used winter clothing is the item being collected for February.
Beneficiaries of this month’s donations include:
Bend
St. Charles: Clothing closets
Bethlehem Inn: Long johns (all sizes, as large as possible), weather-resistant boots, weather-resistant gloves, cats and heavy duty jackets
Redmond
Mountain View Fellowship: Snow pants, waterproof snow gloves and waterproof snow boots
Prineville
St. Vincent de Paul: All winter clothing items are needed
Madras
LINC
To learn more about St. Charles’ 100-year anniversary and its Community Acts of Caring, visit our 100-year anniversary website at https://stcharles100.com/community-acts/.
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,200 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
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Lisa Goodman, Public Information Officer
Phone: 541-706-5989 | Cell: 541-241-0467
