(Nov. 20, 2018, Hickory, NC) -- When the big Frye box truck pulled up at the Hickory Soup Kitchen on Monday, it was filled to the brim with generous donations of Frye Regional employees. Warm items for winter—socks, gloves, hats; healthy and nourishing snacks; and basic hygiene items including lip balm and toiletry kits—the truck was filled with “blessing bags” to bless the homeless and vulnerable adults and children in our community who rely on the soup kitchen for a hot meal.

“Our employees amazed me with their generosity and donated so many items we surpassed our goal of filling 300 blessing bags,” said Surgery Director Faren Campbell, who oversaw the donation drive. “When we got to the soup kitchen, Soup Kitchen Director Austin Pearce seemed genuinely overwhelmed at our generosity. A number of us stayed and handed out almost all 300 of the bags that day. I talked with one lady who offered to trade her bag in so she could get one for her granddaughter. Luckily, we put together 50 bags for children so we were able to give bags to both of them.”

Frye’s Employee Engagement committee chose helping our area’s homeless and disadvantaged population to honor the ongoing work of David Asherbraner, Frye and LifePoint’s 2018 Mercy Award Winner. David has volunteered at the Soup Kitchen for more than 20 years, and is known for his work helping those less fortunate.

“I think this really speaks to the heart of our employees,” said Human Resources Director Julie Bristow, who assisted with the drive. “Of course, it’s in our employees’ nature to reach out and care for others since they chose healthcare as their profession. To me, it shows how much they care about our community to donate their time and resources to create these blessing bags for our homeless and less fortunate neighbors. It makes me proud to be a Frye employee.”