Duane Hicks
The La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary once again has given a boost to local health care.
The auxiliary presented the Riverside Foundation for Health Care with $22,500 during its annual fall tea Saturday afternoon at the New Beginnings Fellowship here.
“Today I am pleased to call on Bill Gushulak, the Riverside Foundation president, to accept our pledge for $22,500,” announced Irene Laing, stepping in for auxiliary president Judy Webster, who currently is travelling.
“This will go towards the purchase of a TV for the isolation room, an ultrasound cam bed, a treadmill for out-patient services, and a Palm Aid 2000,” added Laing, explaining the Palm Aid 2000 is a device that helps to train patients who have lost a leg in the use of prosthetics.
“The last time I was in this building, you gave me a cheque, so I think I’ll just keep coming back,” Gushulak quipped after accepting the cheque.
“Thank you very much for this.
“The auxiliaries have been around for a long time, longer than the Foundation itself,” noted Gushulak. “But across the district, we keep getting great support from them, whether it be the Emo, Rainy River, Rainycrest, or La Verendrye auxiliaries.
“Keep up the great work,” he added.
“If there’s anything the Foundation can do to help to continue your job, let us know.”
Laing noted the auxiliary is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, which she said is “a milestone we can be proud of as we carry on our tradition of raising funds to support capital purchases for our hospital.”
She added “some of the earliest events of the auxiliary are still carried on and have become tradition, and our fall tea and ‘Strawberry Social’ are certainly examples of that.
“Without the participation of our members and your support, we would not be able to raise the funds we do to support our hospital,” Laing stressed.
One way the public can support the auxiliary is through its Christmas 50/50 cash draw, for which tickets are on sale now from auxiliary members.
If all 3,000 of the $2 tickets are sold, that means a prize of $3,000 for the lucky winner.
On behalf of Webster, Laing thanked Mary Jane Pearson and her hard-working crew for the work they did for the fall tea, such as decorating the church, making dainties and sandwiches, baking for the “Cookie Walk” and bake sale, and collecting items for the “Lucky Dozen” draw and penny table.
That’s not to mention the hours they put in the day of the event in the kitchen, serving and working at the tea, as well as setting up tables and then taking them down.
“So thank you very much,” said Laing.
