Salt Lake Regional Medical Center supports impoverished families abroad

This year, Salt Lake Regional Medical Center  chose to support Youthlinc with their holiday fundraising efforts. Their staff raised over $4,150  to support international livestock programs. Their donations will be used in Cambodia, Madagascar and Peru to purchase livestock as part of Youthlinc’s business development  initiatives.

In Cambodia, most families are subsistence rice farmers in the villages where we work. Having a work cow allows them to be much more efficient with their use of land and time. It can be the difference between living below the poverty line or rising above it. A livestock program with pigs and chickens will help Malagasy and Peruvian families have reliable access to protein and constant sources of nutrition, empowering them to keep their family healthy and strong.

The staff also collected and donated supplies for hygiene kits. On the morning of December 9th, Youthlinc volunteers and Salt Lake Regional Directors worked together to assemble 428 hygiene kits! Each kit has one large bar of soap, one large tube of toothpaste, one hand towel, and five toothbrushes. Youthlinc teams will take a portion of these donations to give to families in the villages we serve. Most rural households where we serve have little or no access to primary health care, education, safe drinking water, sanitation or other basic services. This makes it difficult for individuals in these communities to prioritize staying healthy. Having a hygiene kits empowers them to take more control over their families health.

In addition to monetary and hygiene-based donations, Salt Lake Regional went above and beyond by donated more than 150 hats and gloves for families in Madagascar. You may be surprised to find out that Madagascar is one of our coldest sites!

We are so thankful to Althea Peterson, who won the IASIS Chairman Award and nominated Youthlinc as Salt Lake Regional’s focus for this holiday season. We are thankful to Anne Barrow, Ella Barrow, and Maggie Gardiner for representing Youthlinc and helping to assemble hygiene kits with Salt Lake Regional staff. A special shout-out goes to the Salt Lake Regional Medical Staff for their generous donation of $1,500, and of course to Dale Johns (CEO), Tammy Clark and Torie Welsh for their support and creative marketing efforts!