USA Health University Hospital staff donate loads of toys to local community center

Even in the midst of a global healthcare pandemic, USA Health University Hospital employees recently helped those in need by collecting toys for the Dumas Wesley Community Center. Donations were gathered on Monday, Dec. 7, and multiple vanloads of toys and games were then delivered to the Dumas Wesley Community Center.

“University Hospital is proud and excited to support Dumas Wesley’s annual toy drive,” said Sam Dean, University Hospital administrator. “This is our eighteenth year to support Dumas Wesley, and it says a lot about our staff and our providers, certainly during the pandemic. They’ve spent more time away from their own friends and family and their own children this year than they ever have, but their support has been better than ever.”

Dumas Wesley is a neighborhood-based, non-profit organization located near University Hospital on Mobile Street that has served the local community for more than a century. The toys collected at University Hospital each year become a part of the center’s annual Toy Store. Dumas Wesley partners with the community to provide a concept of giving a hand up rather than a hand out. New donations of toys and bikes are reduced to a fraction of their normal retail value, making it affordable for parents to purchase toys for their children.

Proceeds from this event support Dumas Wesley’s After School Achievement Program and community outreach for those living in the 36607 and 36617 ZIP codes. Dumas Wesley will hold its annual Toy Store on Saturday, Dec. 12.