Morris Heights Health Spreads Holiday Cheer

MHHC CEO & President, Mari G. Millet giving out presents during Toy Giveaway.  

By Kayla Mercedes Lee 

BRONX - At MHHC, the holidays signify a special time to create magic for the youngest members of the community. This December MHHC, along with its helpful team of “reindeers” traveled all over the Bronx to spread holiday cheer! 

Several MHHC locations were converted into winter wonderlands where the toy giveaways were held! Every event featured a guest appearance by Santa who greeted all the children, posed for photos, and handed out presents. Holiday tunes, cookies, and hot chocolate created a festive environment, warming the heart of parents and children alike. 

Close to 3,000 individual toys were distributed among eight MHHC sites across the Bronx and one in Brooklyn. MHHC Brooklyn is the healthcare organization’s newest location and the first site located outside of the Bronx. 

MHHC has been celebrating the children in various Bronx neighborhoods every holiday season for close to 40 years and is now proud to extend the joyous occasion to the children of the East Flatbush neighborhood that it now also serves. 

During the holidays, partnering organizations help create magic for in-need families on Christmas in support of a core aspect of MHHC’s mission: to inspire and fulfill the dreams of children and young members of the community. These organizations act as “secret Santa’s” by donating toys and other resources to families in underserved communities. MHHC values the strong relationships it has with its partners, some of which have been active supporters of MHHC initiatives for more than a decade. 

Sharing similar organizational visions and working together creates a stronger force for the cultivation of positive change and hope in the Bronx. 

MHHC emphasizes the importance of the individual needs of the members of the communities it serves, needs which are not solely healthcare related. The patient-focused approach is at the core of MHHC’s mission in its provision of high-quality healthcare While access to healthcare is a human right and necessity, connecting with patients and the entire community through events that focus on giving more than just access to healthcare related resources creates unity. MHHC is the staple for community health and wellness and with its partners and resources, through the action giving to those in need, it truly is “the caring place”. MHHC makes the community feel cared for through the act of giving—the provision of resources necessary to live a life of health and wellness.

The week before Christmas, MHHC held its first Community Tree Lighting Ceremony to celebrate the entire MHHC community: employees and staff, patients, elected officials, supporters, partnering organizations, and Bronx residents. The evening was filled with wholesome festivities, during which everyone gathered around the MHHC Community Tree to view its lighting, an action symbolic of the unity that the organization strives to create in the community it serves. The lights that shine from the tree are a symbol of hope in the Bronx and a brighter year as we approach the end of 2022