Community Day Project Awards

In 2011, HCA flew out into the community to support agencies through our community campaign, Heroes for Hope. Of the 125 projects that HCA employees volunteered with, 5 were chosen for their sponsored agency to receive a $2000 honorarium and get featured on the Foundation website. Award decisions were based on 4 criteria:

-Project Creativity

-Project’s Relation to the Agency’s Mission

-Efficient/Effective Use of Resources

-The HCA Employee Experience

Our winners include:

Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center

HCA employees worked with staff at the Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center to create a Carnival-like experience for children of the Center’s clients, and a spa experience for mothers. Activities like bobbing for apples, balloon art, and face painting encouraged the kids while moms were pampered with massages, manicures, and beauty services. The day included professional family photos, winter coat give-aways, and passing on proceeds from a Baby Supply Drive put on by volunteers before the Community Day. Congratulations Cumberland Crisis Pregnancy Center and the HCA employees who made this day a success!

Discovery Center at Murfee Spring

The Discovery Center at Murfee Spring welcomed HCA volunteers for a day of teaching and learning within the Center’s 20 acres of natural wetlands. Volunteers were trained to provide hands on lessons for classes of 1st and 2nd graders on field trips to the site, leading activities like Wade in the Water in the Wetlands, Watch for Wildlife, and Search for Tadpoles in the Lily Pad Pond. Over 180 students benefitted from this project and volunteers were primed to return and volunteer again in the future. Congratulations Discovery Center at Murfee Spring!

Hillwood High School

Over 30 HCA volunteers converged on Hillwood High School to participate in side-by-side service with over 45 students for this project. The day included projects to beautify the school including multiple landscaping efforts, cleaning up and revamping the school’s outdoor classroom, and creating a Green Greenhouse out of 2-liter bottles. By the end, both students and volunteers felt a major sense of accomplishment and everyone left with a great story to tell. Congratulations Hillwood High School and volunteers!

Make-a-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee

HCA volunteers were truly touched by their visit to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Middle TN. Volunteers updated the organization’s website to meet national standards as well as scrap-booked a large amount of Make-a-Wish pictures and experiences for the Foundation’s 1000th Wish Granting Ceremony. Over lunch, the volunteers got a presentation by a 12-year-old cancer survivor that included her story about a magical trip to Disney that was granted by the Foundation. Congratulations Make-a-Wish Foundation of Middle TN!

Project Reflect

Project Reflect welcomed HCA volunteers for a unique experience at the Smithson/Craighead School in Madison. Volunteers were asked to share about how they were able to overcome struggles to become successful HCA employees in one-on-one conversations with students. With individualized attention and encouragement, students and volunteers engaged in this powerful dialogue and both felt the life-changing benefits. Congratulations to Project Reflect and the volunteers who helped make it happen!