News reports from Kettering Health Network; Simi Valley Church in Southern California; Fresno, California; NAD Children and Family Ministries, Harvard University and Pacific Union Adventist Community Services:

Dayton Daily News reported that Kettering Health Network employees were given 200 snow globes in honor of the May 10-16 National Hospital Week. The globes had notes thanking hospital workers for their hard work despite the difficult circumstances.

“This gift is a small token of our appreciation for the amazing care and service you provide,” the note said. “With gratitude and faith that better days are ahead when we all can, once again, visit the beloved treasures of our community and enjoy time with families & friends.”

Kelly and Joe Lehman delivered the globes to the hospital network. They started Global Love Dayton in 2017.

Kettering Health Network is the Adventist health ministry that operates 9 hospitals in the Dayton, Ohio, metro area.

At Simi Valley Adventist Church in Southern California, Pastors Jan and Phil White started a “drive-by” greeting time after the virtual worship service on Sabbaths. Two weeks ago 20 people showed up in their cars and the pastors prayed with them, collected tithe and offerings, handed out Sabbath School materials for adults and children, and gave out Pastor Phil’s famous “Smile, Jesus Loves You” balloons to the kids. A blessing for all involved!
Source: Pacific Union Conference Communications

In Fresno, California, on Sunday, May 3, several Adventist churches partnered to give away groceries to a thousand families. The giveaway started at 9 a.m., but so many people showed up that they ran out of boxes by noon, two hours early.

About a hundred volunteers packed up 40,000 pounds of food, wearing gloves and masks as they loaded up cars. Church officials are hoping to do more giveaways at the end of May or early June. We’re so impressed by the hundreds of hours, thousands of pounds of food, and the dedicated volunteers Union-wide who are continuing to feed those in need during these times. Keep up the great work!
Source: Pacific Union Conference Communications

Beginning May 5th at 7:30 pm, the North American Division (NAD) Children’s Ministry and Family Ministry departments will be teaming up to bring quick, relevant, and useful information to families in light of these uncertain times. The goal is to invite every family to take part in understanding the lesser-known side-effects that constantly being at home can have on both parents and children. First, Drs. Claudio and Pamela Consuegra will share nuggets of practical information to promote discussion and healthy family relationships. This will be followed by an engaging children’s activity hosted by Sherri Uhrig and Gerry Lopez.

The 15-minute streams will be viewable on the “Our Family Room” Facebook page and will later be shared on both Family and Children’s Ministry YouTube channels. For additional resources for every segment, check out Family or Children’s Ministries websites.

Dr. David R. Williams, the Adventist sociologist who is on the faculty of Harvard University, has been elected to the board of trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Williams is one of the world’s preeminent scholars in the area of public health. His expansive research encompasses topics related to the impact of socioeconomic status, race, stress, racism, social conditions and health behaviors on health. The foundation has worked for over 45 years to improve health and health care, to build a national culture of health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for well-being.

Pacific Union Adventist Community Services Director Charlene Sargent helped load up 42 cases of N-95 masks for Adventist Health’s home health personnel in Glendale, California, on May 4. The pallet of cases contained more than 2,000 masks, which were delivered May 5 in Glendale. “I have had the masks in my warehouse because they are one of the items we put in five-gallon buckets of cleaning supplies we provided to disaster survivors,” Sargent shared. “I was very happy that Adventist Community Services was able to provide much needed masks to Adventist Health to help keep their staff and patients safer during this challenging time.”

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