What do you get when you combine a band-mom with a passion for her community and an organization that values giving back? For Monica Pattillo, it meant the opportunity to get creative. Monica serves as an IT enterprise solutions architect at Texas Health System Services by day and used her personal and professional know how to build her own Community Time Off project.
In keeping with our Vision of partnering with you for a lifetime of health and well-being, Texas Health helps employees give back with our Community Time Off (CTO) program. Although the CTO program offers hundreds of approved projects for eligible employees to receive paid volunteer time for up to one scheduled workday each year, the program also allows employees to propose new projects.
Each year, dozens of high-school marching bands from all over North Texas converge at Pennington Field in Bedford, Texas, to showcase their skills at three events, including the Bands of America Marching Band contest.
When she first began attending the contests a few years ago, Monica noticed that the first-aid station was under-staffed and ill-equipped. Even in early fall, temperatures in North Texas can soar, and with so many students and their families spending hours in the sun, that could be a recipe for disaster.
Imagine marching for hours in the hot sun. Now imagine doing that while wearing a heavy band uniform. Now add a sousaphone to the mix, and the risk of dehydration becomes clear.
Monica began by making sure the first-aid station was properly equipped and recruiting parent volunteers, but after a few close calls, she knew it was time to step up the quality of care.
“The funny thing is, I don’t even have a kid in the band anymore,” Monica said. “That’s how passionate I am about the marching contest. And that’s how passionate I am about safety. Being a Texas Health employee, I couldn’t sit there and not do what I could make to make it safer.”
After her CTO project request was approved, Monica set out recruiting nurse volunteers from Texas Health Harris Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, which is just a twirler’s baton-throw from Pennington Field. Once the first-aid tent was staffed with volunteers, Monica could breathe a little easier.
“I was proud to see the Texas Health H-E-B canopy with our first-aid banner,” she said. “People would walk by and thank them for being there, and I didn’t have to worry because I knew the nurses were there under the canopy and out on the field.”
Although the volunteer-staffed first-aid station might not have happened without Monica’s persistence, she says the nurses are the real rock stars.
“They saw the need, and they showed up.” she said. “I was going to be there no matter what, but they gave their time to volunteer. So, it wasn’t really me. I just made the connection.”
Texas Health employees are encouraged to follow Monica’s example when they see a need in the community.
“One goal of our CTO program is to help Texas Health be a good neighbor,” said Felicia Williams, program director, Community Affairs. “We encourage employees to look for opportunities to volunteer all over the community, whether it’s already listed on our CTO page or a need arises somewhere else.”
by Brand Experience • Posted February 5, 2019
