For Althea Roach, it’s the small gestures that are often the most meaningful. At the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Courtyard Café last week, she reflected on the power of a simple “thank you.”
“Everyone deserves to hear a little praise and kind thoughts,” said Roach, executive assistant for the Office of Diversity and Community Partnership, and a volunteer at a thank you card station set up to allow members of the HMS community to express gratitude. “This event highlights the generosity that the Harvard Longwood Campus faculty and staff deserve.”
As the holiday season approaches, HMS, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) have come together to launch a new initiative called the “Season of Giving.” The campaign provides employees with an opportunity to share messages of appreciation with one another, as well as help the local community.
The event officially kicked off with a special “Talk@12” presented by HMS Associate Professor of Medicine Lachlan Forrow, president of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
“At Harvard Medical School, we work really hard to be the best medical school in the world. What we really should be aspiring to be is the best medical school for the world; same goes for the dental school and school of public health. Not only because doing so would be good for the world; but actually, in the process, we will find an even deeper level of satisfaction into who we are,” Forrow said, kicking off the lecture with a concept he picked up from Sanjiv Chopra, HMS professor of medicine and faculty dean for continuing education.
The noontime talk explored the many positive aspects of expressing gratitude and immediately following the lecture members of the Harvard Longwood Campus Community were given the opportunity to express their own thanks to fellow co-workers, faculty and staff at special thank you card writing stations, located at all three schools.
Thomas Heyne, clinical fellow in pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, attended the lecture and signed a few thank you cards of his own.
“It’s a fantastic idea—to encourage people to stop and think about all the things we should be grateful for, and then show that gratitude,” said Heyne. “We have so much to be grateful for, and I am particularly grateful for HMS to give this opportunity for us to write notes to people I feel particularly indebted to.”
As part of the Season of Giving campaign, the Harvard Longwood Campus will also be holding a canned food drive through Nov. 30. Boxes are located throughout the three schools. All nonperishable items will be collected on the last day of the food drive by the Phillips Brooks House Association, a student-run, community based, nonprofit public service organization at Harvard University. Food will be distributed to shelters throughout the Cambridge and Boston area.
Continuing the campaign into the winter holidays, the Harvard Longwood Campus will additionally be participating in the Phillips Brooks House Holiday Gift Drive. The drive will begin Dec. 1 and will collect books, games, toys, art supplies, and sports equipment for distribution to disadvantaged children.
More information about the Season of Giving can be found at http://hms.harvard.edu/content/season-of-giving.
