Zimmer Biomet Donation Provides For WCS Families During Holiday Season
From left are Tracey Akers, WCS nurse coordinator, Joey Lukkarila, Zimmer Biomet demand planning manager and Dr. David Hoffert, WCS superintendent.
WARSAW — A generous donation from the Zimmer Biomet supply chain management team is helping to enrich the lives of students at Warsaw Community Schools. WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert and WCS Nurse Coordinator Tracey Akers recently greeted staff from Zimmer Biomet to receive a donation to the Boomerang Backpack program totaling $2,330.
In addition, the supply chain management team also provided $210 worth of gift cards for families in need as well as new or gently-used clothing items, stuffed animals, school supplies and toiletries.
According to Joey Lynn Lukkarila, demand planning manager at Zimmer Biomet, the idea to provide this donation began after Vice President of Supply Chain Management Ray McDonagh created an employee appreciation team earlier this year.
“We meet monthly and we brought up ideas on what we can do for the holidays as other departments were adopting families for Christmas,” said Lukkarila. “When we discussed helping the community schools, this idea was unanimously agreed upon. Our Inventory Control Analyst Rachel King connected us with Dr. David Hoffert a few weeks ago. My first conversation with David was so informational as he proceeded to talk about the Boomerang Backpack program, students who need lunch assistance and how supplies and clothing were needed. All of the team members were onboard with wanting to help, not only now, but we want to continue to help as much as we can in the future. We hope WCS will reach out to us whenever there is a need for help from the community. We really enjoyed this program and we hope we can continue to make a difference for WCS for years to come.”
Hoffert displayed his appreciation for the donation. “Warsaw Community Schools has been overwhelmed by the generosity of our local community wishing to assist our students in need over the Christmas season,” Hoffert said.
“The donation from the Zimmer Biomet supply chain management team is an example of the wonderful and caring community we serve. Their donations helped make this holiday season uplifting and met needs for so many of our students. Their donations are being used for the Boomerang Backpack program and towards specific needs identified by the school nurses.”
