KRISTINA: You came at a time when I needed you the most.

NARRATOR: In this episode, Kristina, a CT scan technologist, talks with Tammy, an HR generalist, about the Mayo Clinic Spirit of Caring program. Kristina shares the unforeseen circumstances that led her to apply for funding, and Tammy shares her experience of delivering some much-needed good news to Kristina.

TAMMY: My role in the Spirit of Caring Fund is to help the applicants through the process. I review their application, make sure it's completed well and help articulate their need. Once we gather all the documents that we need, we send it off to a committee at Mayo Clinic who will make the decision on whether the funds are approved for your situation. I get the pleasure of reaching back out to the employee with the good news, in most cases.

Kristina, how did you hear about the Spirit of Caring Fund?

KRISTINA: I heard of the Spirit of Caring from my neighbor and friend, who also was a Mayo Clinic employee. She mentioned it to me and directed me on how to find the application on our home webpage.

WOYICKI: I requested the Spirit of Caring because my daughter and I lived in a 12-unit apartment complex, and we had a fire. It started in another unit, but it quickly spread, and the entire building burned down. We only had the clothes we were wearing, and that was all we had. Everything was a total loss.

Under what other circumstances have people reached out to Spirit of Caring?

TAMMY: For the natural disaster types of things — the fires, the floods or tornadoes — we do try to give the employee an abbreviated process through the route of getting the Spirit of Caring funds. But we also do give it to employees that have other circumstances. Some that come to mind might be if a spouse becomes ill and they have a loss of income in the house. They're not able to pay their rent, and they're near eviction. Sometimes there's a death in the family, and the employee needs to travel to attend the funeral, but they don't have finances to pay for the travel expenses.

We want to make sure that our employees have safe housing and that they have a way to get to work to be successful in their career at Mayo.

Sometimes there's domestic abuse, and the employee needs to get to safe housing. Maybe they need to move to a motel for three or four nights and don't have a way to pay for that motel expense. We like to make sure employees have safe housing, transportation to work and the needs to survive day to day.

KRISTINA: Receiving the money made me feel very relieved. I felt like my job cared and that I wasn't going through this alone. It was very appreciated and helpful. It took a lot of pressure off me knowing that it wasn't a loan that I had to pay back. I was able to use the money that was deposited in my bank account almost immediately to start recovering. It was a big relief and extremely helpful.

TAMMY: That's what the fund is there for. I'm glad you submitted your request.

KRISTINA: I am, too.

TAMMY: Since the fire and since you've received the Spirit of Caring fund, how has life been for you?

KRISTINA: It's been eight months now, and we're doing a lot better. We've had a lot of people picking us up and helping us, including Spirit of Caring. We're doing well. We're still living with my family, but we feel a lot more back on our feet and functional, and able to move forward.

TAMMY: That is awesome. That is great news.

KRISTINA: I want other Mayo Clinic employees to know that this group is available for them. Maybe they don't need to have a house fire or hurricane to reach out to this group because it really could maybe help them in any type of hardship that they're having. It made my life a lot easier, so it could help them, too, and it wouldn't hurt for them to ask about it and inquire about it. Just to let them know that this is an option and possibly available to them.

TAMMY: It is a pleasure to have worked with you, Kristina, to give you a call to let you know your situation qualified for funds from the Spirit of Caring.

KRISTINA: Thank you, Tammy. It was really exciting to get your phone call during a hard time. It kind of made me feel like I won the lottery. You made the process really easy for me, and I was really grateful for your help. You directed me through the process — made it really simple. I was really appreciative that Mayo offers this for situations like mine. I can't thank you enough.

NARRATOR: The Spirit of Caring Fund began in 2005 and expanded to all employees in 2016. Since its inception, the Spirit of Caring Fund has provided more than $1.5 million to 800 Mayo Clinic staff members.