Adena Health employees turn warm hearts into warm coats for about 1,200 area youth

CHILLICOTHE, OH (November 26, 2024) – Lacey Derexson couldn’t wait to see The Pioneer Center’s children parading around Monday in the new coats that had just been delivered from Adena Health’s Coats for Kids program.

“This is everything to our families, especially this close to the holiday season,” said Derexson, community outreach director for the center. “The kids will wear these new coats all day. As soon as I get them passed out, they will want to wear them and won’t want to take them off. They’re always so excited to get them.”

Over the past week, Adena Health Foundation Director Robin Berno and other representatives of Adena delivered about 1,200 new winter coats purchased by employees of the health system to participating schools in the areas served by the health system. In the 18-year history of Coats for Kids, Adena employees have purchased more than 15,500 coats for area children and teens through the annual coat drive.

Schools that chose to participate provided a list of coat sizes for children believed to be in need of warm winter wear this year. Those sizes were made available to Adena employees, many of whom purchased one or more coats to make sure the children who needed them could play outside or wait for the school bus in comfort this winter.

Berno, who has been deeply involved with the program since its inception at Adena in 2007, is very passionate about its impact on the children who receive the coats – not just now but in helping create a willingness to pay the kindness forward in the future.

“I love it,” she said. “Whenever you walk in to a school with those coats, the teachers are so excited to see you. One of my favorite parts of the program is when you get those thank you cards, which mean so much to us, and when you hear some of the stories about its impact along the way, which just get to you.

“I’ve always said it’s about more than just a coat, because these kids are going to remember this. A few years ago, one Adena nurse told me, ‘Robin, I was one of those kids who got a coat, so I will always contribute to this program.’ To me, that’s bringing it full circle. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Berno has been a driving force behind the continued success of the program. She has taken the lead in connecting with the schools, working with others across the health system to get coat tickets to employees, sorting coats as they come in, tagging and bagging them, and making many of the deliveries to the schools. Several Adena employees and donors from the community also contribute money to help support the program, and the Born Country 4-H club this year assisted with sorting coats as one of its own community service projects.

Coats for Kids is one of many outreach programs Adena provides in partnership with area school districts as part of its mission of being “called to serve our communities.” Others include the awarding of annual scholarships to outstanding students considering a career in some aspect of health care, operating a mobile clinic that brings health services to students and communities across the region, and an ongoing effort partnering with schools and utilizing state grant funds to significantly expand school- and community-based health services.

Those interested in contributing to next year’s Coats for Kids campaign or any of the other Adena Health Foundation programs making a difference in the community can visit Adena.org/donate or call 740-779-7528.