Trinity Health Of New England, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Partner to Help Kids

HARTFORD, Conn. — Trinity Health Of New England and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center recently teamed up to help children across Connecticut and Western Mass. The Caring for Kids Cereal Drive, which concluded on June 21, collected more than 111,000 servings of cereal.

Although the two hospitals groups initiated the drive, they were joined by a number of other like-minded organizations in the community. Hartford Athletic hosted a cereal drive at a home game on June 16. iHeart Radio was another supporter and participant, as were the Max Restaurant Group and Accu-Time Systems. Retailers Big Y and CVS Health also participated and contributed to the drive. The donations and support of these organizations served as a multiplier in getting the word out and cereal into the collection bins.

“The inaugural Caring for Kids Cereal Drive was a tremendous success,” said Dr. Reggy Eadie, president and CEO of Trinity Health Of New England. “It is gratifying to see how our organizations, our colleagues, and our community partners all came together to make a difference and help reduce food insecurity in our communities.”

The drive, which coincided with the end of the school year, was designed to raise awareness of the food insecurity faced by children during the summer break. The cereal will be distributed through food banks in Springfield as well as Waterbury and Hartford, Conn.

“Our hospitals share a common mission — to help the most vulnerable members of our community,” said James Shmerling, president and CEO of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. “We decided to work together on this food-drive initiative to address an immediate and pressing need.”

Hospital leaders say the two organizations are committed to enhancing neonatal and pediatric care in the community. Working together allows the organizations to build off the expertise of the other for the benefit of the community.

“Working together will allow us to make a bigger impact,” said Eadie. “It will allow us to leverage our individual strengths and resources and create a better overall healthcare system.”

Shmerling agreed, adding that “we are excited to partner with Trinity Health Of New England to leverage our expertise to further impact kids regionally.”