[caption id="attachment_998" align="alignleft" width="200"]Melissa Wells, Sondra Bryant, and Linda Mabry round up the gifts donated by MMC staff to one of their union co-workers.[/caption]

At a recent union meeting, several SEIU members decided to launch a Christmas gift drive for one of their union co-workers at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

“I wanted folks to know that the union helps people out in our community, not just with their work issues,” said Linda Mabry, a registered nurse.

To get the ball rolling, Linda and several co-workers organized volunteers (“Santa’s Helpers”) in nearly every section of the hospital where staff could contribute Christmas gifts or gift cards to the effort. “This just shows what kind of people we have in our union,” said unit coordinator Gary Hughes, “We are all willing to jump in and help when there is a need.”