CIO Administrative Staff Spread Holiday Cheer

CIOAO staff who collected food for the "Treat or Eat" drive in October 2015: Janet Berlinghoff, Sue Ferry, JoAnn Greenzweig, Ann Metzler, Betty Schaertel, Barb Staebell, and Sheryl Deneke

By Sanya Khanna

Published December 10, 2015 This content is archived.

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Sanya Khanna.

Sanya Khanna (UB Student, Class of 2016) is originally from Delhi, India. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Management Information Systems and has a Bachelors in Marketing and Graphic Design. She loves working with numbers and enjoys visualizing them into something meaningful.

For many of us, the holidays include the excitement of giving and receiving presents. Unfortunately, others aren’t so lucky, such as some elderly individuals living in nursing homes. That’s why the Chief Information Officer Administrative Operations (CIOAO) office, part of UB Information Technology, pulled together to give the residents of local nursing homes presents during December 2015.

Zoom image: CIOAO staff collected a variety of items to give residents of several nursing homes holiday gifts for 2015. CIOAO donations.

CIOAO staff collected a variety of items to give residents of several nursing homes holiday gifts for 2015.

A team of ten staff members put together eight large holiday bags for the elderly. The team first created a list of over 30 items for each bag, with each staff member responsible to collect certain items. Just some of the items collected included playing cards, puzzles, calendars, holiday mugs, hand towels, plates and napkins, and health and beauty products.

CIOAO staff members also pooled their funds together to purchase a fleece lap blanket, slipper socks and a scarf for each bag. Once the bags were filled, CIOAO staff sent them to a local non-profit organization to distribute them among several nursing homes.

The tradition of giving holiday bags to less fortunate individuals was started in the CIOAO office over 12 years ago. One founding staff member, Barbara Staebell, told UBIT News: “The hope is that we can spread a little holiday cheer to people who might not otherwise be remembered.”

Zoom image: The finished products: holiday bags with items ranging from games to health and beauty products for residents of local nursing homes. CIOAO donations.

The finished products: holiday bags with items ranging from games to health and beauty products for residents of local nursing homes.

The CIOAO office also participated in the “Trick or Eat” fundraiser organized by the Office of Student Engagement during October 2015, where the staff took the opportunity to collect grocery donations for the Food Bank of Western New York.

Thanks to the hard work of the team, the CIOAO staff collected more than 30 items per holiday bag in December 2015.