The perfect time to give

At Sharp HealthCare, employees know that any time is a good time to give back to our community. This is especially true when they are donating their paid time off (PTO) to support Sharp’s foundations.

Each year, Sharp employees donate more than $1 million in the form of a one-time gift, automatic payroll deductions or the donation of PTO between eight and 80 hours. Every gift, regardless of amount, is important to the three foundations of Sharp — Coronado Hospital Foundation, Grossmont Hospital Foundation and Sharp HealthCare Foundation — and is used to help build facilities, fund innovative programs and equip Sharp’s expert caregivers with technology that saves lives.

Mary Caldwell, a Sharp HealthCare employee for more than 50 years and currently the environmental services manager with Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, is just one of the thousands of employees who are also generous donors. She has given via payroll deduction and the PTO giving options for 15 years.

“The greatest joy in life lies in serving others,” says Caldwell. “We must be a source of giving, as one day we will have a family member who will need the care, love and dignity that Sharp HealthCare extends to everyone.”

Caldwell’s current giving is in support of the Child and Adolescent Unit renovation at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, a project close to her heart. Her donations will help revitalize the unit, creating an improved healing environment of safety and beauty where compassionate care will take place for patients ages 5 to 17 who are facing the challenges of serious mental illness.

Along with employee gifts like Caldwell’s, Price Philanthropies has generously partnered with Sharp Mesa Vista to make the renovation possible. Price Philanthropies Foundation (formerly Price Family Charitable Fund) is a private family foundation that seeks to improve life opportunities for youth and families through grant making and through the Aaron Price Fellows Program.

The foundation has pledged more than $1 million to the project, which includes a matching gift challenge to multiply the impact of gifts. Every dollar raised to support the renovation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Price Philanthropies, up to $400,000.

“This program is most important to me,” Caldwell says. “Sharp HealthCare and the Sharp Experience mirror my upbringing and reflect my personal values of honesty, respect and human dignity. I have raised my own family to embrace the core values that make up Sharp HealthCare and believe that young people are the stakeholders of our future. We must invest in their well-being.”

Caldwell also donates time, money and resources to charities including the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and conducts a weekly prayer service at a convalescent hospital for the elderly.

“Life is difficult and everyone needs help in different stages of life,” she says. “I have a responsibility to give back and I hope this inspires others to do the same.”

Learn more about Sharp’s employee giving program and additional ways to support the Foundations of Sharp HealthCare. Giving specifically to a Sharp program or service that is close to your heart is one of many ways you can make a difference and help Sharp continue to provide San Diegans with the highest quality care.

Update: Mary Caldwell retired in March 2018, after 51 years of service to Sharp HealthCare.