Back To School We Go!

The start of the new school year this week was made a little easier for local families thanks to the Build-A-Backpack event at the Dignity Health Family Care Clinic last Saturday, Aug. 9. 

The annual back-to-school event provided young students with some 700 new and customizable backpacks filled with back to school necessities, as well as free health checkups, physicals, immunizations, household supplies, personal care products and complimentary refreshments (thanks to the generosity of Dutch Bros Coffee). Additionally, family members were able to tour the new Mobile Medical Unit (which has notably served over 1,200 people already in its first year of service) as well as the newly refurbished clinic facility on 13th Street.

Dale Johns, president of Mercy Medical Center Merced, was at the event with his family to help give out supplies, along with many other hospital and community volunteers.  

“Outside of my role at the hospital and in my personal life, we always try to give back to the community,” Johns told the Times. “It’s important because this is our community. It’s our responsibility. And I bring my family out here to serve, because it’s just as important to teach our kids the importance of giving back to our community. No matter where you are at, you need to give back. When you have been blessed to have a good job or good opportunities, you need to give back to other people. It’s just a wonderful event. And I love to show my kids how a little bit of effort can make a big difference in someone else’s life.”

Later at the event, the Times was able to speak with Kassey Mosher, who is the vice president of philanthropy for the Mercy Foundation. 

“I feel very blessed to work for an organization that invests so much into our community,” she said. “It really aligns with our mission. And our mission is to make sure that everyone is getting what they need, and where they are at. That’s why we are here today, and not at the hospital. We are at a place that is easily accessible to most people, and most importantly to the people who are the most in need. So, I am very, very, proud of that. We really do things that are based on what the people’s needs are.”