Memorial Hospital chaplain stars in Hershey's YouTube video giving out chocolate and jokes

How sweet! Sarah Samson thought outside the box to bring a little joy at Memorial Hospital during the complex COVID times.

The aforementioned box was a box of chocolates. Hershey’s Chocolate, specifically.

Sarah is a spiritual care coordinator at Beacon Health. That means she is a chaplain.

During the pandemic when masks and social distancing prevented Sarah and others from handing out hugs, she found a way to show a bit of love. She handed out miniature Hershey’s bars. The ultimate comfort food.

Photos: Life in the COVID-19 ward at Elkhart General Hospital

“Engagement was terrible. Everything was stressful,” Sarah said. “It was a struggle. There were no visitors.” She could see stress in the eyes and how people were talking to each other. “I loved to reach out this way. It is a way to give back.”

Chocolate came to mind after she talked to people. Sarah started to hand out the bars to staff members. Taped to the back of the bars were bad dad jokes. The nurses and others were instructed to tell the jokes to coworkers. “It was awesome to hear a little laughter when there was so much sadness,” Sarah said.

Sarah used the power of the internet to find bad jokes. There are plenty of sites for that form of humor. She preferred to call them “cheesy.” It added to the charm of it all.

Beacon supported Sarah in her mission to bring out the chocolates. Many people contributed to the candy cause. COVID subsided, but the candy bars kept coming.

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The Hershey Company found out about her mission through a hospital newsletter. Sarah got a call from the company. “At first, I was sure it was a scam about a contest. The next thing I expected was they needed my credit card number,” she said. “I ignored it.” Hershey’s didn’t give up.

Sarah’s story is now featured on a Hershey Youtube channel. There are a number of “Heartwarming the World” stories about people who find connections through a piece of Hershey’s chocolate.

Sarah said a film crew from Hershey’s came in the fall and followed her on her rounds. Sarah got to say a few words about connections, the job and people. Several people were interviewed about Sarah and her bars. Several more read those jokes. Several others groaned.

Her four children are mildly impressed that she is on a YouTube commercial. She said they were more interested in free chocolate.

Hershey’s gave Sarah several cases of full-sized bars to keep up the good work. All the chocolate was in her office. She is now down to five boxes and there is more room in the office. Still lots of joy to share.

She now gets to hug and have conversations. Laugh a bit when it works that way. The Hershey’s bars are a bonus to having the best job in the world, Sarah said.

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One of South Bend’s legends, Gladys Muhammad, is one of five national recipients of NeighborWorks America’s Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership. South Bend Heritage Foundation nominated Gladys for her role as a community organizer in the affordable housing space and in the fight against discrimination in the community, from helping SBH establish the Charles Martin Youth Center to initiating the Red Ribbon March and MLK Breakfast year after year. South Bend Heritage stated in a news release the organization would not be what it is today without her.

Gladys grew up in South Bend. Her involvement in the community is inspiring. She shares her story and the story of Black life in South Bend.

Gladys and the other resident leaders will be honored Oct. 27 at the Community Leadership Institute in San Francisco.

The award was named for Dorothy Mae Richardson, a Pittsburgh resident and community-development pioneer who inspired the creation of the agency that eventually became NeighborWorks America. She worked with her neighbors to address the history of redlining and disinvestment in their community.

Contact Kathy at kfborlik@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hershey's Chocolate YouTube video features hospital chaplain