A rose to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, which won its version of the Egg Bowl. While Mississippi State lost the rivalry football game to Ole Miss, the Columbus hospital beat its sister hospital – Baptist North Mississippi of Oxford, in a food drive competition. BMH-GT employees collected 20,112 non-perishable food items for the local Helping Hands food pantry. It is believed to be the largest single donation ever made to the food pantry. The Oxford hospital collected more than 13,000 food items for an Oxford-area food pantry. In a football game, there are winners and losers, but in this friendly competition there were only winners. We congratulate these hospital employees for their generosity.
A rose to the Mississippi University for Women’s nursing program, which is using grant funds to hire a wellness coordinator, a move it believes will address a recent decline in nursing student retention and graduation rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption in traditional classroom training, along with the economic difficulties students faced during the pandemic, created a strain on both students and MUW faculty. The new position will provide both programming and coaching for existing nursing students in both of the undergraduate prelicensure nursing programs, specifically those identified by faculty as needing early intervention. Further, the coordinator would construct programming for all nursing students that would help with test-taking, study habits, self-care, resilience-building and other strategies for success. We applaud this effort to address these issues at a time when nurses are needed more than ever.
A rose to the Salvation Army as it conducts its two major campaigns — the Red Kettle and Angel Tree. To be successful, each campaign relies on the contributions, not just of money and toys, but from volunteers who ring Red Kettle bells and sort and help distribute gifts collected from the Angel Tree campaign. These campaigns provide vital support to local individuals and families facing crises throughout the year. Every dollar dropped into the red kettles supports a wide array of local services and programs, including food assistance, shelter assistance, emergency financial assistance, youth programs, senior programs, and more. This year’s goal for the Columbus Salvation Army is $100,000. Last year, the Columbus Salvation Army fulfilled the dreams of over 280 children and seniors, and this year’s need is even greater. You can volunteer to adopt, manage Angel Tree locations, or assist in sorting and distributing gifts to program participants. Visit SalvationArmyColumbusMS.org, email [email protected], or call 256-525-7958 to volunteer or learn more about how you can support The Salvation Army this Christmas and beyond. To contribute or explore more ways to support The Salvation Army, visit ColumbusKettle.org
A rose to the Mississippi State soccer team upon the conclusion of its most successful season in program history. Mississippi State reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA playoffs for the first time, beating Providence, 2-1, in extra time in the opening round and Brown, 1-0, in the second round before falling to No. 2 seed Stanford, 1-0, on the Cardinal’s home pitch on Nov. 19. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 12-6-5 record, highlighted by a stifling defense that yielded just 0.7 goals per match. MSU has now made the NCAA playoffs for two years in a row, which indicates that the future is bright for coach James Armstrong’s program. Congratulations!
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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