Joseph Buff Insurance Agency – Farmers Insurance Delivers Cheeriodicals to 100 Hospital Heroes at UAB Hospital
For the last nine years, Cheeriodicals has worked with corporate America to conduct community outreach events all over the United States and Canada. In conjunction with our corporate clients, we’ve delivered well over 100,000 comfort gifts to those in need (hospitalized children, hospitalized Veterans, families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses, etc). Each delivery event is special and punctuated with photos of smiling children and Veterans.
While we are grateful for each event we are engaged to conduct, we do have to admit that our very favorite events are those that benefit hospitals in our own Birmingham-based community! So, a huge thank you to Joseph Buff Agency (Farmers Insurance) located in Chelsea, Alabama for reaching out to us to conduct a delivery event to benefit the Hospital Heroes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who are fighting on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On June 1st, the Joseph Buff Agency and Cheeriodicals delivered 100 shoulder bags that contained items to make a healthcare providers’ hospital shift a little easier (healthy snacks, 24 oz beverage tumbler, electrolyte powder packets, write erase markers, etc.) and items to help them unwind at home after a long shift at the hospital (Epsom salt to soak tired feet and muscles as well as relaxing tea with honey packs). “We polled numerous hospitals to find out what items to include in each bag. We’ve received the most comments on the Epsom salt. We are told that being able to unwind after a stressful and emotional day once a healthcare provider gets home can be very difficult,” said Gary Parisher, President of Cheeriodicals. “Each bag also contained a branded notecard with a personal message from the Joseph Buff Agency to the healthcare provider, along with several other Farmers’ branded convenience items. This was a great way for Joseph to make the gift personal.”
“Farmers Insurance has always encouraged its agents to give back to their local community,” said Joseph Buff, the owner of the Joseph Buff Agency. “Now more than ever, Farmers wants to show our support to the community that has been so faithful to us. The healthcare providers at UAB and our surrounding hospitals are amazing and my agency wants them to know that we realize they are putting their own health at risk every day caring for COVID-19 patients. We want them to know we realize they are having to work even longer shifts than usual and that this impacts not only them but their families at home. We want them to know we appreciate their service and dedication to fighting this terrible virus that has turned our world upside down. So I was honored to sponsor this delivery of 100 care bags in hopes that it provides a small amount of comfort to the healthcare providers, and that it reminds them that their community has them in its thoughts and prayers.”
Several of local media partners joined in to share the story of two local businesses coming together to deliver smiles to the UAB Hospital Heroes:
This is not the first time Cheeriodicals has worked with Farmers. In January 2020, Foremost Insurance, a Farmer’s affiliate, also sponsored a Cheeriodicals delivery in Phoenix, AZ. As their delivery was pre-COVID-19, they chose to make a delivery to 320 Veterans at the Phoenix VA Healthcare Center.
For the last nine years, Cheeriodicals’ mission has been to spread cheer to healthcare workers and hospital patients. Our passion is helping businesses like Farmers Insurance and its agents give back to their community by facilitating the packing and delivery of comfort gifts to Hospital Heroes (hospital staff), Children’s Hospitals, Veterans Hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, American Cancer Society Patients, and many other charities.
While our traditional offering involved gathering large corporate teams together for team building events that involve the assembly of comfort gifts, in light of COVID-19 we launched Cheeriodicals’ Direct Ship Initiative to enable businesses to give back to their local community without having to gather in large groups.
