St. Anthony Community Hospital nurses conduct holiday drive for Mother’s Cupboard

WARWICK — Each year Marlene Roerdon, clinical coordinator Center for Ambulatory Surgery at St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, asks members of her nursing staff to attend a school or perform a community service for their professional enrichment.

“When nurse Dee Keegan came to me with the idea to do a service project for the community,” said Roerdon, “I suggested Mother’s Cupboard at St. Stephen’s Church in Warwick.”

Mother’s Cupboard, a pro-life ministry and Parish outreach program, collects donations of all baby items for parents in need such as diapers, wipes, lotion, powder, shampoo, sipping cups, pacifiers, blankets, bibs and the like.

Roerdon and Keegan reached out to nurse Deborah Kozlowski, who had been a Mother’s Cupboard volunteer, for information to get started with collecting donations.

They created and circulated a flyer among the hospital staff and the donations poured in. The project will now be ongoing with donations collected from hospital staff and the public throughout the year in the Surgical Services Department.

“I wanted to do this to give back to the community,” said Keegan. “The Mothers’ Cupboard was a perfect choice. We gave two boxes of baby items and have more to go. I want to thank all of my coworkers for their generosity. It’s a collaboration of all of us.”