BJC In the Community

The Construction Forum St. Louis Foundation recently honored CH, BJC and Tarlton Corp. with the Building Tomorrow Award in the Diversity category for the Thinking Beyond Tomorrow program.

In commemoration of BJC’s 25th anniversary in 2018, BJC invited employees to nominate a charitable organization that had personal meaning to them to receive part of $25,000 set aside to support grassroots, local organizations with a shared mission of improving health, education, child/youth development, senior/disabled support or community-building.

BJC financial planning and analysis and decision support team members spent most of a December day at Food Outreach in midtown St. Louis. Some of the team worked in the kitchen, and others filled food orders.

Mothers who had lost a child in death found comfort in speaking openly to one another of their beloved children, their grief and their possibility of hope at the annual Weavings weekend-long retreat, held in the fall. Professional grief counselors and volunteers from BJC Hospice encouraged sharing and healing and led activities of celebration and remembrance for each child.

Jane Doe* is a young woman with several children. For the majority of her life, she’s been in a violent environment. It began when she was a child and continued off and on as she became a young woman. For now, she’s violence-free. She and her children live with a relative, which has made a difference. She’s also participating in the Life Outside of Violence (LOV) program, which has opened new doors that could help her move outside violence permanently.

Dozens of families throughout the St. Louis area celebrated a happier holiday season in 2018 — thanks in part to the efforts of one of the BJC Center for Clinical Excellence’s volunteer committees.

United by the bond of service to their country, BJC Veterans Connection group volunteers spent a recent Saturday morning giving back to others and proving that their commitment to service didn’t end with their service in uniform.

The MBSH Ambassadors have scheduled regular meetings to help fill backpacks with food for children in food-insecure homes. Teachers and counselors from the Sullivan elementary and primary schools refer students to the program. Food-filled backpacks are sent home on Fridays to get the children and their families through the weekend, when school lunches aren’t available.

Funding made possible by the CH Foundation has enabled the Hazelwood and Riverview Gardens school districts to each open an innovative school-based health center (SBHC). Ribbon-cutting ceremonies took place Oct. 29 at Hazelwood East High School and Riverview Gardens High School.

Four-year-old Gwendolyn Kramer was born with a rare progressive neurological condition. But that doesn’t stop Gwen and her parents, Erin and Mark Kramer, from making the most of every minute they have together.