Insight: Winter 2021

Winter 2021 | 11 Paying it Forward McFadden Pharmacy: “May All Your Christmases Be Bright” Richard Edmund, Staff Writer Casey McFadden, R.Ph., owns McFadden Pharmacy in Bainbridge, OH, a small town divided by U.S. Highway 50 that runs along the tributary Paint Creek with roughly 1,500 residents. Three years ago, he was volunteering at the local food bank as the holidays approached and began to think that the same people who needed assistance with meals might need help at Christmas, too. “I asked the gentleman who ran the pantry if he could get me a few names of families I could help,” Casey said. “He told me definitely. That went from a couple of names to a couple of pages of names.” Living in a small community, it didn’t take long for word to get out that Casey and his pharmacy were on a mission. He went from wanting to help a few families to organizing an effort that would help many more. “I had an individual in town call me and say he heard I had a list of names,” Casey added. “He said he wanted to help and asked if I would share some of the names and needs. Word spread from there and I got more calls.” Casey spent much of his time after Thanksgiving 2018 combing through the list, dividing the names of families, and going around town distributing lists to those who wanted to help. He and his staff placed an Angel Tree inside the pharmacy and instead of ornaments, they decorated it with tags that had the names and ages of children along with gift requests from the youngsters. “The community truly rallied around our effort,” Casey said. “They wanted to help us make a difference in the lives of families in our own community. It felt nice, but as the gifts poured in, we quickly realized we had no place to put them. I ended up storing some in my living room and much of my staff offered up space in their homes as well.” Some of the gifts came wrapped. For the ones that weren’t, Casey and his staff stepped up to the plate full of Christmas spirit and wrapped them. He got calls from some businesses that couldn’t organize buying gifts but offered to give money toward the cause. Casey recruited more people to take the money and buy gifts from the children’s lists. COVID-19 didn’t slow down the effort heading into Christmas 2020. By this time, Casey was honing his skills at directing this huge effort that touched so many lives. But there were also lessons learned during the first two years. “It’s sad, but we discovered some families were double-dipping,” Casey said as his voice dropped. “They were not only reaching out to us, but other charities with similar programs. We felt that left out many other families during Christmas.” Casey was able to create a database that he shared to see which families had applied to multiple organizations. Rather than wrap each gift individually, Casey and his team placed the gifts in giant Christmas stockings. They also used the money donated to buy necessities for the children. “Sometimes things like toothbrushes, gloves, and scarfs can go a long way in helping families,” he said. Casey and the staff at McFadden Pharmacy are paying it forward and proving community pharmacy is truly all about community. Casey McFadden (pictured front row, left) and the McFadden Pharmacy staff and their families.