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Thanks to All Who Provided Holiday Happiness to Hundreds

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February 14, 2012, Volume 58, No. 22

Dear Penn Community,

Thank you so very much for all of your contributions to benefit our surrounding community. There are no words to adequately describe your generosity during the holiday season. Many benefitted from your willingness to give. Here are examples of the various efforts

Thank you to President Gutmann for hosting her Annual Holiday Party where over 300 toys and gifts were donated. These toys along with many others were donated to Councilwoman Blackwell's Annual Holiday Party for the Homeless.

Thank you to the following departments that brought joy to families during the holidays by 'adopting' them:

April Herring and family coordinated by April Herring
Career Services coordinated by Jamie Grant
Center for Bioethics coordinated by Robin Hartley
Center for Excellence in Environmental Toxicology coordinated by Mary E. Webster
Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing coordinated by Valerie Ross
Central Corporate and Foundation Relations coordinated by Don Bone
Central Research coordinated by Olivia Pridey-Patton
College Housing and Academic Services coordinated by Pamela Robinson
Department of Rheumatology coordinated by Colleen Speakman
Development and Alumni Relations coordinated by Patricia Speakman        
Division of Medical Genetics coordinated by Barbara Bernhardt
Facilities and Real Estate Services coordinated by Beth Schwartz
General Counsel coordinated by Helen Logan
Graduate School of Education Admissions coordinated by Emily Schrag
Lauren Robinson Family coordinated by Lauren Robinson
Meghan Maini's condo coordinated by Meghan Maini
Office of the Comptroller coordinated by Stephanie Mahan
Office of Gift Planning coordinated by Lorleen A. Maxwell
Office of Government & Community Affairs coordinated by Linda Satchell
Office of the Treasurer coordinated by Margaret Heer
Office of the Vice President for Finance coordinated by Karen Hamilton
Perelman Quad/WLRC/Bon Appétit coordinated by Kristine Werez-Patterson
Research Services coordinated by Lauren Oshana
School of Arts & Sciences External Affairs coordinated by Juliana Walker
Perelman School of Medicine Gene Therapy Program coordinated by Kelly Reynolds
Student Financial Services coordinated by Yvonne Giorgio
Student Health coordinated by Constance Murphy and Anne Cunningham
ULAR coordinated by Linda Lyons
University Communications coordinated by Teresa Lajara
Weekly-Paid Staff Assembly coordinated by Linda Satchell
Wharton School Business & Public Policy Department coordinated by Beth Moskat
Wharton School Dean's Office coordinated Jennifer O'Keefe
Wharton School Executive Education coordinated by Katrina Clark

Special thanks to the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and the Penn Cardiovascular Institute coordinated by Carolyn Henry for the donation of gift cards which provided groceries for deserving families during the holidays.

Thanks to Helen Logan and the Office of General Counsel for providing additional gifts to insure that all the families referred to us were adopted.

Special thanks to Human Resources for their new Coat Drive coordinated by Syreeta Gary. Most of their donation benefitted the Grand Family Resource Center/Supportive Older Women's Network.

Special thanks to the Center for Bioethics' Robin Hartley for the additional donations for our deserving families in the Adopt A Family Program. The donation of gift cards purchased glasses for a father who had not had a new pair of glasses in over 9 years.

Thank you to the Facilities Department coordinated by Beth Schwartz for the additional donation to the Adopt A Family Program. We were able to purchase a car seat for a mother which allowed her to bring her newborn home from the hospital.

Thank you all for donating to the Annual Coat Drive. We provided coats to:

Teens of Excellence Homeless Shelter
Grand Family Resource Center/Supportive Older Women's Network (SOWN)
Traveler's Aid Shelter
Greater Philadelphia Cares Annual Coat Drive

Thank you to the entire University community for donating over 700 gifts and toys.

Thank you to the Dropsite Volunteers who collected all the toys/gifts and made it possible for us to respond to requests for donations from our neighbors listed below:

Councilwoman Blackwell's Annual Holiday Party for the Homeless
The Potter's House Mission
Earth's Keepers, Inc
McMichael Morton School
Parents Against Drugs
Mill Creek Community Partnerships
New Faith Non Denominational House of Prayer
Church of New Hope and Faith
Glenn's referral

Additionally, the following pantries benefitted from the University's Annual Food Drive:

Carroll Park Community Council
Baring House Crisis Nursery
Vine Memorial Food Pantry

Please email me at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu if you have any excess office supplies, furniture or equipment including stackable chairs, printers, desktop computers, cordless phones, fax machines, flash drives and DVD players suitable for donations to local nonprofits in the area.

—Isabel Sampson-Mapp, Associate Director, Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Almanac - February 14, 2012, Volume 58, No. 22