KEARNEY, Neb.— Project Snowflake, a yearly giving drive among CHI Health Good Samaritan’s employees, is donating over $11,000 this year to those in need during the Christmas season.

The hospital in Kearney has been collecting donations annually for more than 30 years. In light of rising local food insecurities, the hospital staff increased their giving goal, and for the first time, asked the community to join.

The expanded efforts to gather food, personal care items, gifts and monetary contributions launched last month. The donations, divvied to seven local non-profit organizations, totaled more than $11,300 in both monetary and physical gifts. 

Kimber Bonner, the vice president of patient care services, says this opportunity to donate sheds light on the many ways hospital employees help the community. 

“Our team members are caregivers in every sense of the word,” Bonner said. “Project Snowflake is one of the many ways that they reach out to others, and this year they were able to address the needs of our friends and neighbors in a really amazing way.”

Through Project Snowflake, hospital employees had the option to give to many places, such as the SAFE Center, Salvation Army, Jubilee Center and HelpCare Clinic.