Baptist Operation Outreach, one of the largest providers of free health care for the homeless in Shelby County, hosted its annual Tree of Faith, Hope & Love holiday events for the homeless on Friday, Dec. 9 at the new Hospitality Hub in Memphis and on Friday, Dec. 16 at Catholic Charities of West Tennessee. Baptist Operation Outreach served 350 individuals this season with 72 volunteers helping.
This year, Baptist raised almost $7,000 to support the Tree of Faith, Hope & Love. Thank you to the team members who have donated through the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation to Baptist Operation Outreach – Tree of Faith, Hope & Love! Team members can donate throughout the year. Click here to make a monetary donation for Tree of Faith, Hope & Love, or click here to donate PTO or make a one-time payroll gift.
Tree of Faith, Hope & Love holiday event attendees received lunch and a backpack filled with gifts and items to keep them warm. They also had the opportunity to send holiday cards to their loved ones and get their blood pressure checked.
Today, Baptist Operation Outreach is using the nearly 50 leftover backpacks with thermals and toiletries to support seniors who were left homeless by the Dec. 29 fire at the Feels Like Home Senior Lifestyle Residence on Kirby Road in Memphis.
Many kind volunteers helped to make the Tree of Faith, Hope & Love holiday events a success. Twenty volunteers sorted and packed 300 backpacks at the beginning of December, while 25 volunteers distributed 150 meals and backpacks on Dec. 9 at the Hospitality Hub and 27 volunteers distributed 102 meals and backpacks at Catholic Charities of West Tennessee on Dec. 16. Volunteers also sent 48 meals to the Memphis Union Mission on Dec. 16.
Baptist Operation Outreach delivered 50 gift bags to homeless individuals in an emergency shelter in South Memphis on behalf of Baptist Memorial Restorative Care Hospital. Volunteers from Baptist Women’s Auxiliary put together the bags for the emergency shelter.
In 2005, Baptist Memorial Health Care joined with Christ Community Health Services to officially start the Baptist Operation Outreach mobile clinic for the homeless, which has since expanded to include a location in Catholic Charities of West Tennessee.
