MultiCare Valley Hospital brings holiday cheer to local students
MultiCare Valley Hospital
Spokane, Wash.
Every December, health care workers at MultiCare Valley Hospital, based in Spokane, Wash., take on extra seasonal roles: holiday “elves." For nine years, the staff has organized a gift drive to support local children, donating presents and essential items to families who need them most. In December 2025, they donated more than 400 gifts to kids enrolled in nearby Broadway Elementary School and North Pines Middle School.
Hospital leaders consider the project an extension of their commitment to caring for the community, particularly at a time when many families feel financial strain. Three-quarters of the students at Broadway and North Pines qualify for free and reduced lunch, while at North Pines, 5% of enrolled students are unhoused.
“Just two days ago, I got an email from a mom saying, ‘I’m having a really hard time picking between paying rent and giving Christmas presents,’” said Rhiannon Catlett, a school counselor at North Pines. “MultiCare is helping them not have to make that choice.”
To participate in the program, families submit wish lists of their wants and needs, which often include basics that can be taken for granted, like coats, gloves, hats, boots, even diapers. But there are also requests for presents that are more fun, like a hot pink bicycle.