ANN ARBOR — Starting on Tuesday, December 14, hundreds of holiday gifts are being delivered to over forty Detroit area families who have had difficulty making ends meet this year. In November, social workers invited people with chronic kidney disease and those on dialysis, along with their families, to submit gift wish lists to participating organizations. The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM) Board of Directors, NKFM staff, McCann Worldgroup, and Greenfield Health Systems, a part of Henry Ford Health System, raised about $35,000, the largest amount ever gathered during the five years that the NKFM has been adopting families for the holidays. Staff from the three organizations shopped for the gifts and wrapped them. During the rest of the week, they will deliver several carloads of presents to the families.
“I am continuously inspired by the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan team’s passion for helping families impacted by kidney disease,” states Bill Kolb, Chairman and CEO, McCann Worldgroup, and an NKFM Board member. “Given the challenges of the past couple of years, the need is greater than ever and we are humbled and honored that we have the opportunity to bring some happiness to families throughout metro Detroit.”
“This is our fifth year participating in this program and we’re especially proud to continue providing help, comfort and support for our families—especially under current circumstances,” said David Shepherd, Henry Ford Health System’s President and CEO of Community Care Services and Chair of the NFKM Board of Directors. “We want to commend our Greenfield Health Systems team and McCann Worldgroup for their amazing generosity and support and we truly hope this makes a difference in the lives of our patients and their families.”
“After seeing our emergency fund requests from people with kidney disease increase by over 300% in 2020, we knew that the holidays would be hard as the pandemic is still causing illness, deaths and loss of income due to inability to work,” said NKFM President and CEO Linda Smith-Wheelock.
About NKFM
The mission of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan is to prevent kidney disease and improve the quality of life for those living with it. The NKFM provides more programs and services to more people in Michigan than any other region or state. For the past 13 years, Charity Navigator — the nation’s leading nonprofit evaluator — has recognized the NKFM with its highest rating of 4 stars for success in sound fiscal management. nkfm.org
