BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital is hoping to celebrate the importance of philanthropy with recognition of Giving Tuesday on Dec. 1.
Giving Tuesday, known on social media as #GivingTuesday, is a national initiative to support community giving the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Atlantic General Hospital (AGH) and each of Worcester County’s municipalities announced this week they would be recognizing Dec. 1 as Giving Tuesday here on Delmarva.
“Giving Tuesday is a true giving holiday,” said Todd Ferrante, chairman of the AGH Foundation. “It’s a boost to humanity rather than the economy.”
A ceremony hosted by hospital officials at AGH Nov. 24 declared Dec. 1 Giving Tuesday and included proclamations from Snow Hill, Berlin, Pocomoke City and Ocean City supporting the event.
“Coinciding with the Thanksgiving holiday and to kick off the holiday shopping season Giving Tuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentive for us to show our true spirit during the holiday,” Ferrante said.
Ferrante said AGH was one of 30,000 organizations worldwide participating in the event, which was started in 2012 and is designed to foster community relationships and encourage generosity.
Proclamations read by George Tasker on behalf of Pocomoke City representatives and Michael Pruitt on behalf of Snow Hill representatives offered similar sentiments.
“Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to encourage citizens to serve one another throughout the holiday season,” Tasker said.
Though he wasn’t present Tuesday, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams took the opportunity Monday during a town council meeting to present AGH officials with a proclamation in support of the Giving Tuesday efforts. He said he was thrilled to see the hospital push what was a growing initiative throughout the country.
“It took off in the more metropolitan areas but even in the rural areas it’s been a big success,” Williams said. “The basic idea is you’ve got Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and then Giving Tuesday is the time after we’ve taken care of everybody else to take care of our charities and nonprofits that bring such quality of life to the area. Atlantic General Hospital has taken the lead in promoting Giving Tuesday in Worcester County.”
Michael Franklin, president and CEO of AGH, said the initiative the hospital was promoting for Giving Tuesday was its campaign to raise money through the sale of personalized bricks.
“Our initiative is ‘Paving the way to better health one brick at a time,’” Franklin said. “The engraved bricks will be used to pave Atlantic General Hospital’s east entry.”
Community members are encouraged to purchase bricks, which cost $100, and can be engraved to honor a loved one. The bricks will be installed in the garden adjacent to the hospital’s outpatient services entrance in July. For information on how to purchase a brick, call 410-641-9671 or email [email protected].
“This beautiful space provides a natural gathering space for associates, visitors and patients,” Franklin said.
He said the community’s support during the past two decades was what had enabled the hospital to become what it was today. What started as a small facility with 30 physicians has now grown to a health system with 15 locations and more than 225 doctors. It serves close to 140,000 patients each year and employees 850 area residents.
“These numbers are staggering,” Franklin said. “This hospital continues to grow and evolve. We could not do this without the generous support of each of our donors.”
