By CAROL WATERLOO FRAZIER,
Daily News Lifestyles Editor

This is the time of year when generosity is in the air as folks reach out to help those less fortunate. That was the case at UPMC McKeesport where the facility and community united to assure Auberle youth have presents this Christmas.

The Warm Hands, Warm Hearts project collected hooded sweatshirts, hats, gloves and scarves for more than 150 youngsters at the McKeesport facility. The wrapped gifts were presented Wednesday to Auberle officials for distribution during its annual holiday party and Christmas morning.

"Thank you for what you did," CEO John Lydon told the hospital representatives. "It was a unique project and one that will make a big impact on the hearts of the children for a long, long time."

Having those items, he said, will create "a sense of pride for them. They will wear them regularly and it will be a source of pride as they show off what they got."

Lydon praised the group for their efforts.

"To take on a project for that many kids is amazing. For all of you to put that kind of effort into this stuns us," he said. "We are very grateful for what you've done."

Betty Jean Marconi, manager of community outreach at UPMC McKeesport, said the goal was to collect enough money to buy items for 150 children.

"We had half the money raised in the first two weeks," she said. "We met in October and in about two days we were promoting the project on the internal e-mail. Everything just came together easily."

Warm Hands, Warm Hearts organizers included Marconi, Paul Hunter, Nora Evans, Lori Lubinsky and Kathie Kozak. Hunter came up with the idea to do something for the Auberle residents.

"He volunteers there," Marconi said, "and he realized some of the kids don't have warm clothing and he wanted to do something about that."

He asked Peggy Frye, Auberle's volunteer services coordinator, what was needed.

"She mentioned hoodies, scarves, gloves and hats so that's what we decided to do," Hunter said.

Hunter was pleasantly surprised with the results.

"When the letter went out, it was amazing the response we got," he said. "People from the hospital and the community really came together to help with this. It was a fun project and it really fell together so easily."

Lubinsky and Kozak got involved through Magnet Force 10, which is part of a hospital-wide project to have the nursing staff accredited as magnetism.

"There are 10 forces involved in the accreditation process and Kathie and I represent Force 10, which focuses on involvement in the community," Lubinsky explained.

During the initial meeting, Kozak came up with the project's name.

"We were talking about winter and keeping warm," she said. "We knew we were getting them gloves and the name just came to me. It really says what the project is all about."

McKeesport Hospital Foundation was instrumental in handling the financial contributions and offering suggestions for collecting funds. When it came time to wrap the gifts, Marconi said more than 30 volunteers - members of the nursing, lab and community outreach staffs, the St. Margaret License Practical Nursing program students, and Peace Lutheran Church and its youth group - offered their time.

"We wrapped more than 600 gifts in about 21?2 hours," she said. "We couldn't have done that without the help of so many people. This was such a blessing to all of us because we knew we were doing something to help out the kids."

To chart the project's progress, Lubinsky and Kozak created a tree that's now filled with mittens.

"For every $20 collected, we put a mitten on the tree on the wall," Lubinsky said. "There's a snowman thanking everyone for their contributions. The tree is filled with mittens and that's exciting."

Lydon stressed the long-lasting significance of the gifts.

"A lot of people wouldn't connect your gift with education, but there's a definite connection," he said. "When they feel good about themselves, they do better in school. These gifts will give them a sense of pride and they'll feel good about themselves as a result."

Lydon encouraged the hospital personnel to think about the Auberle youngsters on Christmas morning.

"When you're opening your gifts Christmas Day, I hope you remember the gifts you gave our kids," he said.