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Crisis Nursery of Effingham County to benefit from “Day of Giving” Donate-a-thon Hosted by WCIA on December 3

HSHS St. Anthony’s Health Center, 900 West Temple Avenue, Serving as Donation Drop-off Site

Annually, WCIA-TV of Champaign hosts a “Day of Giving” during the holiday season to encourage area residents to support local agencies. This year’s “Day of Giving” will benefit crisis nurseries across Central Illinois, including the local Crisis Nursery of Effingham County, the Champaign-Urbana Crisis Nursery and the Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery in Springfield. 

The “Day of Giving” donate-a-thon will be held on Tuesday, December 3 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at HSHS St. Anthony’s Health Center, located at 900 West Temple Avenue, Building B in Effingham. HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital is proud to host the drop-off point through its partnership with the Crisis Nursery of Effingham County. A truck will be parked in from the Health Center to collect all the donated items.

Crisis Nursery staff and volunteers will be accepting donations on December 3 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as providing information about Crisis Nursery. Other activities will also be going on during the day, including a special visit from Santa from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. to give out candy canes for those who are dropping off donations.

Monetary donations are also being accepted through the HSHS St. Anthony’s Foundation. Visit stanthonyshospital.org/giving and select “Make a Donation.” Under the Giving Designation, select “Where My Gift is Needed Most” and note “Crisis Nursery” in the Comment Section.

This event coincides with Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. Held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, charities, families, businesses, community centers and students around the world come together to celebrate generosity and helping others. Giving Tuesday is held annually after the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate to improve their local communities and give back in impactful ways to charities and other causes they support.  

Crisis Nursery of Effingham County provides protection from and prevention of childhood trauma, abuse and neglect through 24-hour emergency shelter care to children birth through six. Crisis Nursery offers a unique and nurturing space equipped with safe hands and open hearts to all children and families in need.

​Meghan Rewers, director of Crisis Nursery of Effingham County, is thrilled that WCIA chose the Crisis Nurseries in central Illinois to support through this year’s “Day of Giving.” We are honored to be selected and it provides us with the opportunity to collect items that we use every day, to ensure we can continue to serve area families.”  Some of the main items that the Crisis Nursery can use are:

• Diapers – Size 3-6
• Pull-ups
• Infant Formula
• Baby Wipes
• Clorox Wipes

A comprehensive wish list of items can be found at crisisnurseryofeffingham.com/wish-list.

Rewers shared who benefits from the services provided by the Crisis Nursery. “We are here for everyone. A crisis can look like many different things, but we define it as anything that may put a family at risk, and a crisis can happen to anyone,” she said. “For that reason, there are no income guidelines or demographic guidelines.  Our services are free and open to any family or child in need.  Anyone with children ages birth through six may use our services.”

HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital President and CEO Theresa Rutherford explained why St. Anthony’s is proud to partner with the Crisis Nursery. “The services that Crisis Nursery of Effingham County provide helps us take care of the health and wellbeing of our community as our Mission calls us to do, even outside the four walls of our hospital,” she explained. “It’s an island of safety for families in crisis, and those families are truly demonstrating their love for that child by ensuring they are cared for in a loving and safe environment during that stressful time.”

Rutherford shared her thoughts on why giving to this endeavor is important, especially at this time of year. “We as a community are stronger when we come together to support an organization such as Crisis Nursery. It is the perfect time of year when we are all so blessed and thinking about the gifts we will be giving others, to help our community and the families that need and use Crisis Nursery.”

For more information about Crisis Nursery of Effingham County, visit .crisisnurseryofeffingham.com.