Most of us are fortunate enough to afford food on the table every night. But for many families in the Chicago area, children go to bed hungry on a regular basis. For many the only food they have available to them each day is at their school breakfast and lunch program. Each year we hear heartbreaking stories of children who ask Santa for basic necessities or toys for their baby brother or sister. Many don�t even ask anything for themselves but for their mom to be able to pay the rent. We tend to only hear these stories only during the holidays. But children go to bed hungry all through the year. While many people are fed through food pantries imagine your child having to eat whatever is available, not what they like and oftentimes things that don�t necessarily go together. Can you imagine eating canned tuna with sauerkraut? YUCK!
To kick off this year�s holidays we thought we�d share with you pictures of the 10th Annual Chicago Muslim Turkey Drive organized by Dr. Shoshara and Dr. Shakir. Many staff members contributed to the cause as well as many people from the community. Enough donations came in to purchase and distribute 660 turkeys to needy families on Chicago�s south side. Held at Emmett Till Academy this past Monday, Drs. Shoshara and Shakir helped out with the unloading of the trucks, the distribution to the families and the cleanup afterwards.
Many of our staff members work behind the scenes in our community. Some are soccer coaches. Some help out at food pantries. Others donate their time to charities or write checks to organizations like the American Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/) or the CareLink Foundation (http://www.carelinkfoundation.org/). (Please note that CareLink�s office has moved to the new PHA office in West Chicago at 946 North Neltnor Blvd., Suite 120).
Here at PHA we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We are grateful to our patient families for entrusting us with the care of their children. We are grateful to our staff who make it all happen. We are grateful for our own families who put up with us when we work later than expected. Most of all we give thanks to God for his provision to each of our families we serve as well as our staff. Thankfulness means rejoicing in the source of all our blessings.
As we reflect on our past year, we also know that at least four of families in the practice are having a very difficult time being thankful. We mourn with them the loss of their children. Others have begun to face the long road of fighting cancer or other chronic illness. May God bring comfort to the families mourning and healing to our children.
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