Volunteers from the Hospital Auxiliary gathered in the upstairs lounge on October 17 at St. Francis Memorial Hospital (SFMH) in Barry’s Bay to celebrate the results of their work and present a cheque for $15,000 to St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation (SFVHF). On hand to receive the donation from Auxiliary President Lorraine Finn were Gregory McLeod, Chief Operation Officer of SFMH, Toni Lavigne-Conway, Executive Director of SFVHF, and Mary Ellen Harris, Director of Nursing. Photo above
The Hospital Auxiliary works year round to raise funds by running the hospital Gift Shop, selling raffle tickets, creating and installing seasonal favours to brighten the wards, and generally spreading good cheer throughout the facility. This annual presentation gives both SFMH and SFVHF the opportunity to appreciate the work of Auxiliary volunteers, and to select the winners of the Auxiliary Raffle Prize Draw. Finn thanked all the prize donors and acknowledged support from individuals and businesses in the community, hospital staff and SFVH Foundation. She congratulated the volunteers, saying there were three thousand tickets in the draw and the raffle had raised $5,430. Tickets for twelve lucky prize winners were drawn as follows:
- First Prize Handmade queen quilt (value $700 donor Claire Ostroskie) – won by Maurice Cameron
- Second Prize Framed original oil/watercolour painting (value $600 donor Eva Kaczkowski) – won by Sherry Webb
- Third Prize Fancy lace (value $350 donor Ray Drystek) – won by Elsie Mask
- Fourth Prize Emerald afghan (value $100 donor Sheila Mason) – won by Richard Spence
- Eight Prizes of $100 (donated by Stella Rumleskie, Veronica Bialy, Ron & Joyce Lorbetskie, Mike & Heather Poliquin, Dave & Ruth Lockhart, plus several anonymous donors) – won by John Marsh, Marianne Keyko, Josephine Koznaski, Heather Poliquin, Bernice Buttle, Ray Borutski, Bev Krupe, Miriam Kauffeldt
Lorraine Finn with some of the Auxiliary Raffle prizes
Lavigne-Conway thanked the Auxiliary for their contribution and congratulated them on such a successful Raffle. She said when she retires at the end of the year, among the best memories she will take with her will be the wonderful partnership with them. She remarked on their loyalty, saying she had spent fifteen years with SFVHF but many Auxiliary members had been volunteering for so much longer. She noted that it was not unusual to see one of them spend the entire day in the Gift Shop, and then to see the same volunteer selling raffle tickets when she went shopping the following day. “You are amazing, wonderful ambassadors for the hospital,” she said.
McLeod echoed Lavigne-Conway’s thanks to the Auxiliary volunteers for their contribution which he said would go towards the capital request for much-needed medical equipment. Pointing to the big bag of raffle tickets, he said it showed how many people the volunteers had met and he complimented them on the positive impression they make by being welcoming and helpful: “You do remarkable work here, not only in the lobby waiting room. There are a lot of people going through challenging times and you guys are always upbeat and positive. It means the world to people to just have that.”
Finn reminded everyone present to be sure to spread the word about doing their holiday shopping at the Auxiliary Gift Shop. She said it will soon be stocked with new inventory offering a wide range of seasonal gift items and decorations, handmade articles. Finn advised, “This year remember to shop locally; there’s no tax, plus any of last year’s items will be half-price in the lobby at the beginning of December.”
