The Gifford Medical Center Auxiliary
Supporting Gifford in Protecting the Health of the People
in Our Communities
The Gifford Auxiliary celebrated its centennial in 2006 and was honored by the Vermont Legislature for that century of community service.
The auxiliary that started as the Randolph Sanatorium Ladies Aid Society in 1906 has supported Gifford's mission of community health, and since 1956 it has provided clothing to the area's needy, and frugal, through its Route 12 Thrift Shop.
The Thrift Shop is the Auxiliary's main endeavor and primary revenue source. The Auxiliary's 100-plus members help staff the Thrift Shop and generate its approximately $85,000 in annual profits. The volunteers ring up and bag customers' purchases. They also sort, clean and mend clothes brought to the shop and knit hats for babies born at Gifford's Birthing Center. From 1908 to 1973, the volunteers also sewed and mended hospital linens from sheets to johnnies.
Small purchases at the Thrift Shop have added
up to well over $1 million raised todate to support the hospital. An active 12-member Auxiliary Board of Directors reviews requests for Gifford equipment, building and program needs. The Auxiliary has provided funding for numerous hospital projects, including the Thrift Shop's
own renovation, the Philip Levesque Medical Building, Robin's Nest day care center
and earlier hospital construction. It also
provides scholarships for college students pursuing health careers, financial aid for students enrolled in licensed nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse programs, medical equipment, and reading materials, including children's books, for various hospital departments.
Auxiliary projects
- Annual scholarships for college students pursuing careers in health-related professions
- Financial support for students enrolled in Licensed Nursing Assistant certification programs
- Auxiliary members knit baby buntings and caps for each newborn at the Gifford Birthing Center
- Funds donated for medical equipment and outfitting patient rooms
- Reach Out and Read program (books for Gifford’s Pediatrics Department)
- Purchased children’s books for the new OB-GYN Center
- Funding for the Philip Levesque Medical Building and Gifford’s new Robin’s Nest Daycare Center
- Funding for the Thrift Shop renovation, which is staffed by Auxiliary members
- Purchased Community Health Resource Center materials
- Funding for Menig Extended Care Facility's 10-bed expansion
Its $300,000 contribution to Gifford's expanding nursing home, Menig Extended Care Facility, was the largest single gift to the project.
The Auxiliary also frequently hosts speakers on important health issues. Four luncheons a year at the hospital give members an opportunity to keep abreast of Auxiliary activities, socialize with other involved community members and discuss ways to make an active contribution to Gifford.
Auxiliary President Sandy Singer calls the nonprofit organization "community at its best."
To become involved with the Gifford Auxiliary, call (802) 728-2617, e-mail gmca@giffordmed.org or visit 4 Maple St., Randolph. Office hours vary, so please call ahead.
Volunteering
Gifford volunteers work at the hospital daily staffing the Garden Gate Gift Shop and front desk. Volunteers also provide administrative help in various departments, greet visitors, visit hospital patients and nursing home residents, and much more.
The volunteers number 110 and include Auxiliary members who work at the Thrift Shop. In 2005, the volunteers contributed more than 11,000 hours. In recognizing the volunteers at an annual appreciation luncheon, former Volunteer Services Coordinator Elaine Soule noted, "The hours that you give could never be compensated for by the hospital; it could never afford you."
Gifford's Board of Trustees and committee members are also volunteers.
And Gifford’s Chaplaincy Program has over 20 volunteers who come from six differentarea churches. Before being able to work with patients in the hospital all chaplaincy volunteers are required to complete a 10-week
training program. Each volunteer then commits to one two-hour shift each week visiting patients.
Call the Volunteer Services Coordinator at (802) 728-2324 to find out how you can become involved.