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When the women
of the Catherine
McAuley Circles meet, it’s a power lunch of
the very best kind: the power of giving.
Like the meeting two years ago, when the
Circle at Mercy Medical Center Redding
bought new lounge chairs for the hospital’s
chemotherapy unit. Or last year, when the
Circle at Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta
helped fund a portable ultrasound for the
emergency department. The St. Elizabeth
Circle purchased an ultrasound cardiac out-
put monitor that uses sound waves to assist
the physician in determining if a patient has
a cardiac or vascular abnormality.
The Catherine McAuley Circles are donor
clubs named after the founder of the Sisters
of Mercy, who used her inheritance to help
women in need. There are three Circles—in
Redding, Red Bluff, and Mt. Shasta.
Every year, each group uses its donations to
fulfill one of its hospital’s wishes.
Generosity in action
Each Circle sets a minimum donation for its
members. They range from $250 to $1,000 a
year. Then members meet three times a year
for lunch.
1
“The first gathering is about networking,”
says Alisa Johnson, Development Officer
for Mercy Foundation North and the
facilitator of the Circle in Mt. Shasta.
2
At the second lunch, hospital doctors and
staff pitch their projects. And then the
women vote on what they want to sup-
port. “By the time they leave the second lunch,
they know where their money is going,” says
Michelle Martin Streeby, Senior Development
Officer for Mercy Foundation North in Redding.
3
The third and last lunch is all about
celebration. “The doctors return and
bring the new equipment,” says Kristen
Gray, Development Officer for Mercy
Foundation North and the facilitator of the
Circle in Red Bluff. “They talk about how
many patients it has helped, how many
people have been trained on it. Everybody
loves this final luncheon.”
A widening membership
Since the Circles began several years ago, word
has spread. And more women join each year.
“It’s just a joy,” says Marion Nebergall, a
founding member of the Redding Circle. “Ev-
erybody in the Circle has the same objective,”
she says. “We get to choose where our money
goes. And we all work together to do the best
thing for our hospital.”
Circles of
giving
To find
out how
you can join
the Catherine
McAuley Circle
in your area,
call Mercy
Foundation
North at
530.247.3424.
THE CATHERINE MCAULEY CIRCLES
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