Serving & Celebrating in Our 30th Year

As our 30th year anniversary approached, we wondered how to recognize this significant milestone. A party? Of course! So we kicked off our 30th (official date of incorporation: July 1st, 1986) with an employee picnic. It was really hot and really fun, and it gave us the opportunity to develop, as a group, our emerging ideas about how to celebrate our 30th.

A Cooperative Connection

Cooperative Home Care has about 500 employees. We firmly believe every employee who chooses to work in health care of any kind is driven to do so by a core desire to help people. They have other reasons too. Other reasons include wanting to always learn and grow in their profession, wanting to always have job options and opportunities, and wanting to work with people. But their deepest motivation, we believe, is to help people. When it comes to home care and hospice, this is especially true. These areas are really hard work. Caring for people who are ill and who are near the end of their life is physically and emotionally challenging. Especially when it is outside the safety and security of a hospital setting.

Acknowledging this desire to help created an easy connection. If we are driven to serve, then we could expand our opportunities to do so. Our “Serving and Celebrating in Our 30th Year” campaign consists of 30 service projects this year. It has already connected us with many charitable organizations. Most importantly, it has connected us with the amazing people who create and support them. We easily embrace and work with each other through our shared desire to help and serve.

Serving & Celebrating in Our 30th Year Campaign

Our “Serving & Celebrating in Our 30th Year” journey began with the Walk to Defeat ALS. Next, we organized an adult diaper drive. The drive connected surplus unused adult briefs left behind at nursing homes to people who need them. The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank also gave us the opportunity to pack baby diapers for re-distribution. We toured St. Louis’ famous Hill neighborhood, our corporate office location, to gather donations from local vendors. Vendors included Bertarelli Cutlery, DiGregorio’s Italian Market, Gelato Di Riso, and Shaw’s Coffee. Their generous donations contributed to three auction basket donations: ALS, World Pediatric Foundation, and Autumn View Gardens benefitting the Alzheimer’s Association. We also prepared and served a delicious dinner at the west county Ronald McDonald house.

What’s Next

The PurpleStride St. Louis Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 5K is next in our queue. Then, we will participate in the 1st Annual Amanda Ford Kickball Tournament.

Our choices to serve are purposeful. Some ideas are contributed by employees who are interested in a particular organization, but haven’t volunteered yet or don’t know how to get started. Other organizations, like the Alzheimer’s Association and PurpleStride St. Louis, are very deeply connected to Cooperative Home Care employees. In both instances we are happy to support them.

That’s our story so far. The most exciting and best part of this story is the hopeful potential of our “Serving & Celebrating in Our 30th Year” campaign. 30+ organizations to discover. 30+ service opportunities, big and small. Hundreds and hundreds of people.