|
 Cool
weather does not dampen spirits as community turns out for
burgers and brats
"The
people of this area always show extraordinary compassion and
generosity when it comes to helping others," said Bridges CEO
Dan Rohrbach, as the crowd ignored the unseasonably cool, windy
weather and filled the donation box with bills and checks.
"They know what it is to rebuild after a natural disaster and
how much support like this can mean."
Burgers and brats were on the menu for a fundraiser in the
Bridges parking lot where in just two hours, more than $2,000
was raised for the Northwood Deaconess Health Center Employee
Assistance Fund.
When
a mile-wide F4 tornado plowed through Northwood, ND, on August
26, the Northwood Deaconess Health Center was badly damaged and
personal hardship brought upon many of its employees.
Jon
E. Linnell, Executive Director of the North Region Health
Alliance (of which both Northwood Deaconess and Bridges are
members), noted that insurance, as well as state and federal
aid, take time and do not cover many of the losses.
"Additional expenses
borne by the employees are not only the rebuilding of their
homes, but the expenses of additional daycare, additional
travel, some also lost their modes of transportation, temporary
and extended housing, initial replacement of necessities and
spoiled food, some have losses of the secondary spousal incomes,
etc….. etc… True, insurance will cover some of the losses but
that takes time and some don’t have any disposable income to
cover that lag."
Bridges employees had already
collected dozens of bags of food and personal care items that
were taken to Northwood in the immediate aftermath of the
tornado, but there were still needs that had not been met. With
their Chief Executive Officer and Director of Nursing at the
grill, employees volunteered their time to serve plate after
plate of burgers and brats with all the fixings.
Ralph's Food Pride, Ag Country,
American Federal, Bank of the West, and Community Bank each
donated supplies, and the grill was provided by Rueben Alvarez,
a Bridges employee and well-known local grill master.
Bridges matched $500 of the
community donations bringing the total as of September 16th to
just under $2,100. Donations are still being accepted and
can be dropped off or sent to Bridges Medical Center.
Checks can be made out to the North Deaconess Health Center (NDHC)
Employee Assistance Fund. Rohrbach and the staff at
Bridges would like to thank everyone for their support and to
express how proud they are to be part of such a caring
community. |
