Asides

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Pepper – A Leader

My favorite two-year-old is Pepper. In this picture, Pepper is about 18 months old. She is happy to have Nana and Papa push her stroller as long as she has her thumb, favorite toy, and sunglasses. She’s just turned two years old and now sitting in a stroller is not at all what she wants, after all, she is a big girl now. Pepper just turned two.

Pepper is now the leader on our walks, she is the vessel that brings people together, and she inspires to share her experiences. She is happy to expose her messy self, tantrums, and all. She knows genuinely – like only grandparents can do that she is loved. She belongs, she is connected; she is a leader on our walks. Pepper knows the guardrails of walking with Papa and Nana. When she crosses the street, Papa carries her.

Bold with no worries of the world, she is raw and real, she set to be a leader in not just walks, but in life. My wish for her is that as she grows up, she uses her words to build unity.

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Mask Making Hero’s

A challenge given. A challenge surpassed! In March, our Foundation put out a challenge for 5,000 mask for first responders. Currently, over 10,000 have been made and over 45 organizations received the mask. Below, is a letter sent to each mask maker on the Facebook site “Mask for Bakersfield Hospitals”.

We find ourselves as a community and a country in changing times. We watched COVID-19 take over cities’ and countries’ healthcare systems. At Adventist Health Bakersfield, we are doing everything in our power to provide the care you have grown to expect in our communities, recognizing that, beyond sheltering in place, we have little control over how fast or how slow the virus spreads in the future.

I want to thank you for the love you have shown to our front-line employees and first responders by making masks during this time. The “thank you masks” that you have sewn speak volumes to our Kern County healthcare workers about the support and love their community has for them. In healthcare, we care for people through people, which means that each mask you made is taking care of someone who is taking care of someone else. You have joined our healthcare team!

I pray that each of you and your families stay healthy and safe during this time.