Our member Auxiliaries are well known in their areas for their volunteer service to their hospital communities. Auxiliaries provide care and comfort to patients in a variety of ways. Some provide services to their hospitals or in care homes. Some are able to provide financial initiatives that support healthy community living, such as disabled riding therapy or ‘Moms/Dads & Tots’ group classes. Sponsoring such programmes and services have expanded how we view our healthcare mandate.
All Auxiliaries are dedicated to find ways of fundraising for important medical equipment for their hospitals. Some operate Thrift Stores and/or Gift Shops. Some raise funds through raffles, craft fairs or other creative initiatives. Hopefully, we are all doing a good job helping our communities understand our important role in their local healthcare.
However, a lesser known and often less well promoted community service are the bursary and scholarship programmes that many auxiliaries award annually to worthy, local recipients. Investing in the future of healthcare by assisting financially to the studies of young people entering the medical field ensures a healthy future for us all! Some Auxiliaries will continue to support their winners in subsequent years! Other award winners might be mature students upgrading their current skills or furthering their education within a new specialty.
Bursaries or scholarships may come in amounts both large and small. They may be a single presentation or multiple awards. They may be named for an original founding member or a respected healthcare worker in your area. They may be an ‘in memorial’ award or even a ‘legacy’ award. They may simply carry the name of your Auxiliary. What does matter is that we are investing in the future of healthcare in our province.
In recognition of how our Auxiliaries are indeed looking to the future, we have collated a list, of the member Auxiliaries who have been able to provide educational funding. This is especially commendable, considering we have been living through over a year of pandemic shut downs! This list of generous auxiliaries may not be complete. However, we know that other auxiliaries contribute to the education of their young people. We encourage those auxiliaries to mention their awards on their websites and or Facebook pages as it is a great way to ‘spread the word’ to your community.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”
Carole Murray Vice President