POWERGRAMS

20 MEETS NEEDS OF UNDERSERVED ACROSS THE STATE Center wrote. "All of the nurses were very thankful to receive the gift cards. I am grateful to everyone who helped put this together because of the happy faces I got to see when giving them this gift." Western APSO members signed a poster-sized appreciation card for nursing staff. Community Relations Manager Karen Burklew and other members helped honor Bibb County educators by supplying refreshments during a teacher recognition event. BRINGING THE MAGIC Magic City Chapter held several projects to brighten the lives of the underserved by providing food and care, with a heavy focus on nutrition. "We tried to think outside the box about how we could serve," said Magic City President Shenita Baker, a customer care specialist at the West Jefferson Office. "We knew we had to think differently. With things going on with the pandemic, food banks have had lots of shortages. We did a virtual food bank, where members could go online to donate funds. We had never done a virtual food bank." Through their virtual food drive for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Magic City APSO collected $600 to buy items specified by the food bank, providing 2,397 meals. Employees filled food-donation boxes at four business offices in Birmingham and at the General Services Complex. "We collected a lot of canned foods for Community Kitchens in Birmingham; employees were very generous," Baker said. Throughout May and June, Magic City helped Vineyard Family Services in Pelham and Children's Harbor at Children's of Alabama hospital. Members supplied the Vineyard ministries with easy-to-fix meals such as spaghetti and tomato sauce; canned vegetables, tuna and chicken; macaroni and cheese dinners; and household items. Magic City made wish lists come true for young patients at Children's Harbor by supplying toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and hand sanitizers. Magic City volunteers bought the items, which Baker packaged and delivered. Environmental Affairs Specialist Debbi Bond of the General Services Complex led efforts to encourage staff and patients at Ahava Healthcare and Comfort Care Hospice facilities in Shelby County. Bond delivered many donated stuffed animals. "Magic City members wrote cheerful notes and attached them to each stuffed animal, to give it a character so it could be a companion for the recipient," said Bond, an APSO member since 2010. "We decided to make this an ongoing project through the rest of the year. If anyone has gently used stuffed toys to donate, we can use them – they can be a good distraction for patients with dementia, and we've given many stuffed toys to children in the hospital." Members also bought new toys through an Amazon wish list. SOUTHEAST/FARLEY PROVIDES CHEER AND FOOD From May 1 through June 30, Eufaula Office employees held a donation drive for Crowne Health Care Nursing Home, collecting word-search, coloring and activity books. Community Relations Specialist Brooke Goff chaired the project. Farley Internal Communications Lead Laurel Crawford chaired APSO's project to collect canned goods at Plant Farley for the Wiregrass Area Food Bank in Dothan. BARRY FEEDS THE SOUL WITH READING From April to early June, Barry APSO members held a virtual book fair in which members selected and bought books for the chapter's Adopt-A-School program. Book fair chair Melanie Robins and other Barry members delivered the books to North Mobile County K-8, Dauphin Island Elementary and George Hall Elementary schools. by Donna Cope Western APSO – 113 employees signed a thank-you card for Nurse Appreciation Week May 6-12 as part of the Southern Company Service Project. Jamescia Jackson takes canned goods to Community Kitchens for Magic City APSO.

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