Friends of Geisinger Wyoming Valley provide holiday cheer to early intervention students and families
Kids enjoyed face painting, music, snacks, a craft and a visit and gift from Santa. The gifts from Santa included a toy and different necessities each year, such as pajamas, winter gloves and hats and winter coats.
This year, the pandemic has cancelled plans for the breakfast event, so the group -- now named the Friends of Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center -- is donating gifts to children attending Early Intervention preschool in Luzerne and Wyoming counties. The gifts will be sent home to families to open on Christmas.
“The families that we served with the Breakfast with Santa event were very grateful each year,” said Laine Martin, a long-standing member of the Friends of Geisinger Wyoming Valley. “With a lot of people losing their jobs during the pandemic, we knew that this year there would be a great need.”
The group recently wrapped and bagged more than 200 gifts for students in the Early Intervention classrooms and their siblings. The classrooms, operated by the Hazleton Area School District, consist of children ages 3 to 5 who have developmental delays. The children receive specialized instruction for delays in speech, vision and hearing and receive occupational and physical therapies as well.
“We are happy to find a way to continue to offer some holiday cheer to this community,” Martin said. “We have heard that the families are extremely grateful since many could not provide gifts this holiday season.”
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 126 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $15 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
