Cataract Surgery Support Specialist Bekah McCarty was the first employee to take advantage of the company’s new Mission Trip PTO benefit. The program, initiated by Dr. Pit Gills, provides employees with one week of paid time off to complete mission trips both domestically and abroad.
Bekah’s mission took her to Haiti with her husband, who is an outreach coordinator for The Chapel Community Church of Trinity, along with other volunteers from Schools for Haiti, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children through education and other support.
During the group’s time in Haiti, they presented bible studies and served hot lunches to over 600 children. They also spent a portion of their time in the communities where they provided dinner and prayer to 15 families.
In Haiti, schools are primarily for grades K-9. Once children reach 9th grade, they often begin work or help at home, so support during the early years is crucial. It’s also the goal of Schools for Haiti to move toward offering educational opportunities to grade 12.
This trip was Bekah’s 6th mission. She’s been to Nicaragua twice and El Salvador three times. “Mission work is where my heart is,” said Bekah. “My husband and I are looking at going to Costa Rica in May to assist with building what’s technically called an orphanage,” she said. “But it will have a bit of a soccer theme – to provide direction and hope for the children there.”
Bekah was extremely grateful the new Mission Work PTO benefit at St. Luke’s and to be the very first person to take advantage of it. “I had just started at St. Luke’s and I was already able to take time off and go do something so important to so many,” she said. “It meant so much to me.”
Learn more about the inspirational work of Schools for Haiti here: https://schoolsforhaiti.com/
