Medical Center of McKinney and its medical staff donated $30,000 to three local charities—the Community Food Pantry of McKinney, the Community Health Center of McKinney and Community Lifeline.

“In the spirit of Christmas giving, Medical Center of McKinney and its medical staff are pleased to make donations of this level to these three deserving organizations that serve our community,” said Ernest C. Lynch,  president and CEO of Medical Center of McKinney, in a news release.

Dr. Rashid Rahman, president of the medical staff, said the physicians at Medical Center of McKinney were proud to make the donations to charities they felt bring so much to the community.

“We see a number of patients that rely upon these types of community resources, and it’s good to know that there is such great support for them in the community,” he said in a news release.

The Community Health Clinic provides no-cost, basic healthcare to  underserved members of McKinney and Collin County. While part-time nurse practitioners provide medical care in the day clinics, volunteer physicians, nurses, student nurses, diabetes educators, translators and office staff fulfill roles in both day clinics and the evening clinics.

"This donation allows us to continue to provide our patients with basic health care so that they may be able to have a better quality of life, provide for their families and contribute to the community in a positive way,” said Sarah Mitchell, Community Health Clinic board chair. “This year, we have made more than 2,100 patient appointments with our 825 adult patients and 300 pediatric patients. We continue to grow weekly and have added an additional 75 patients since September.”

The Community Food Pantry of McKinney is a nonprofit outreach program that provides food to those in need. Hospital officials said last year, the Food Pantry provided more than 5,800 families with groceries to prepare more than 168,000 meals, which helped feed more than 8,300 people.

“Medical Center of McKinney has supported the Community Food Pantry since 2006, and is our largest single donor. In 2014 we spent about $32,000 purchasing food for the pantry, and in 2015 we have had to increase that spend by $6,000 to $38,000 in order to meet the community’s needs. This donation will help substantially in covering this increase,” said Carol Bodwell, director and board president of the Community Food Pantry, in a news release.

The Community Lifeline Center helps residents manage short-term crises situations to regain self-sufficiency by providing assistance for housing, utilities, medical expenses and food.

“This donation is critical to stabilizing our fund for eligible clients’ medical and related expenses,” said Brian Marques, executive director of Community Lifeline, in a news release. “We are grateful for this generous contribution by the Medical Center of McKinney because it ensures that we are able to begin the New Year with funding already in place to meet this critical client need.”