IU Health gives back to the community

At Indiana University Health, our work is guided every day by our values of purpose, excellence, compassion and team. Every September, our Days of Service is an opportunity to take those values outside the walls of our hospitals and give back to the communities we serve. IU Health team members contribute more than 10,000 hours annually through the program, volunteering their time and talents to improve the lives of others.

IU Health Serves focuses on volunteering in the community with activities that align with our community health priorities in making Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states.

Delphi

Team members helped to finish various projects at the Upper Room Youth Center in Delphi, which included painting, decorating, organizing and assembling furniture. The Upper Room Youth Center offers a safe structured environment for middle and high school students, public and homeschooled, to build relationships and life skills.

Frankfort

Team members from IU Health Frankfort Hospital built a gaga ball pit at the Clinton County Boys & Girls Club. Gaga ball is a great way to provide a fun physical activity for children of all athletic skill levels. In a time when our country is facing a childhood obesity crisis, care givers need to continuously find ways to keep children physically active. The game's growing popularity is due to its universal ability to be used in physical education classes, during recess, in after-school programs or as a camp activity.

Team members also built a ramp for a Frankfort resident which has given her the ability to leave her house. She uses a wheelchair for mobility and has missed doctor appointments because she has not been able to navigate the steps to leave her house. The ramp has given her the freedom she has wanted for a long time.

Lafayette

Since its opening, IU Health has served as the official healthcare sponsor of Junior Achievement’s BizTown, a day-long simulation where students assume roles in a healthcare clinic to provide services to residents of the fictious BizTown. They learn the importance of citizen rights and responsibilities in a community, develop a basic understanding of fundamental business principles and learn more about different careers in healthcare. IU Health team members helped prepare the space for the 2022-2023 school year simulations by cleaning and organizing the town.

During their quarterly meeting, IU Health leaders collected more than 500 pounds of food donations for the Food Finders Food Bank. They also wrote encouraging cards that will be added to the fleece blankets before they are distributed.

Several team members stocked shelves and sorted food at the Food Finders Food Bank – Fresh Market Pantry. In north central Indiana, one in eight people face hunger. The risk of hunger is more likely to affect households with children. Food Finders collaborates with other organizations to provide food for those in need and to educate, advocate and address food insecurity.

In addition to Days of Service, September is Recovery Month. IU Health was a gold sponsor for the Tippecanoe Celebration of Recovery Rally and 5K. This event brings together people who are in their recovery journey to celebrate how far they have come. Team members handed out information and answered questions, as well as helped manage the event.

The IU Health Arnett Family Medicine Residency program volunteered at the Lafayette Urban Ministries Emergency Shelter, performing the monthly shelter cleanout. LUM provides a short-term overnight shelter, meal and shower for individuals experiencing homelessness. LUM has the capacity for up to 44 adults each night.

Monticello

Team members from IU Health White Memorial packed and delivered 1,000 hygiene kits for White County schools. Access to basic hygiene products influences overall health. Providing these products can help build stronger self-esteem and confidence. Each year, the local schools talk about personal hygiene with their fourth-grade students. The kits packed by our IU Health team members will be given to each of these students so they can establish the personal hygiene routines they learned about. The remaining kits were donated to schools to hand out as needed to any student.

More than 50 team members helped by creating 200 no-sew fleece blankets which will be distributed to organizations across the region. These blankets will bring comfort and warmth to kids at Isaiah 117 House and Heartford House in Lafayette, Home for the Night homeless shelter in Frankfort and to the White County United Way Coats for Kids drive.