East Cooper Kicks off Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive
Jul 7, 2015Because Hunger Doesn’t Take a Summer Vacation
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – May 29, 2015 –East Cooper Medical Center is leading a community effort to provide local children struggling with hunger with a healthy breakfast during the summer through its Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive benefitting the Lowcountry Food Bank. The drive kicks off Friday, May 29 and runs through Friday, June 5. The hospital hosted a cereal eating contest this morning to help raise awareness of the drive and encourage donations.
Several locals took part in the cereal eating contest in the hospital’s main lobby. Mount Pleasant Mayor Linda Page and Moultrie Middle School Principal, Anna Dassing, judged the competition. Participants included Mark Smith, Town Councilman; Rob Fowler, NBC News 2 Chief Meteorologist; Dave Williams, ABC News 4 Chief Meteorologist; Jason Alexander, East Cooper Medical Center’s Chief Executive Officer; Terri Harris, Chief Nursing Officer at East Cooper Medical Center; Moultrie Middle School 6th grade student, Mario Andrade and Marie Evans, teacher; Kim Burkeen, teacher from James B. Edwards Elementary School. Students from both Moultrie Middle School and James B. Edwards Elementary collected over 400 cereal boxes to contribute to this initiative.
“At East Cooper Medical Center, we recognize hunger exists in every city in America, and our staff is eager to join the fight against hunger to make a difference in our community,” said Jason Alexander, CEO of East Cooper Medical Center. “We understand the importance of good nutrition and hope that, through this drive, we can help those struggling.”
“We appreciate East Cooper Medical Center for hosting the Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive and are grateful for all that it does for our community,” said Pat Walker, CEO of Lowcountry Food Bank. “Summer is a particularly difficult time for our food bank because many children can no longer rely on their school for meals so their families often turn to us for help. Thanks to East Cooper and the Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive, many families will have a healthy breakfast.”
The East Cooper medical staff donated an additional $1,000 and presented a check to Pat Walker and the Lowcountry Food Bank this morning. Ms. Walker stated the Lowcountry Food Bank is able to provide 6 meals for every dollar that is donated. “Thank you for this generous donation as we can provide an additional 6,000 meals for local families,” said Ms. Walker.
Donations of healthy cereal to the Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive will be collected from May 29 through June 5 at East Cooper Medical Center. If you would like to provide a monetary donation for perishable breakfast items, please visit: www.lowcountryfoodbank.org/ways-to-give/tenet-cereal-drive.
East Cooper Medical Center, part of Tenet Healthcare, is a 130-bed acute care hospital located at 2000 Hospital Drive in Mount Pleasant. East Cooper Medical Center has been providing healthcare to the East Cooper community since 1986. We provide a number of services including 24-hour emergency care, women’s services, diagnostic imaging and interventional services, orthopedics, sports medicine, pain care, adult and pediatric rehabilitation services, wound care services and surgical care, including nationally recognized spine surgery and breast reconstruction surgery. East Cooper Medical Center is accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.
