Pink Ladies Auxiliary 60th Anniversary
A very special group exists in connection with the Hospital District and has been here to aid in our efforts in providing great care for the patients and residents of our facilities. These ladies have a long and proud history that began in October 1963, when the Power County Hospital Auxiliary (Pink Ladies) was organized. The charter members included: Marge Burge, Ruth Finley, Erma Crompton, Lois Harms, Ruth Richards, Fawn Kress, Betty Kress, Mary Logan, Arlys Mayer, Ellen Dillon, Kathryn Kramer Tabor, Ellen Hawkley, Pat Taylor, Katie Schroeder, Judy Taylor, Janie Vollweiler, Shirley Liese, Gertrude Ruff, Lenora Koompin, Beverly Beitz, and Mrs. Howard Frazier.
These are very busy ladies! Their unending devotion, service, and support have helped the hospital and its residents since they first began. Their activities and events keep them busy all year, whether they are undertaking a new project or one of their annual traditions. Some of their past events included: charity balls, candy cart, health education, nurses club assistance, newborn gifts, and everyday duties for the residents and departments. This team of ladies originally volunteered their time to do many of the jobs that are now required to be paid positions in the district, including answering phones; providing snacks and drinks; assisting nurses with supplies or patients; housekeeping; and patient record and billing processing.
Today, the ladies continue to focus on fundraising efforts for student scholarships and resident assistance, such as the quilt raffle that originally started in 1976, corner gift shop, baked potato bar, brake for breakfast, volunteer pink tea, and homemade pie sales that started in 1975. These many hours of service and activities have helped provide the hospital and residents with much-needed equipment and opportunities along with thousands of dollars in savings due to their volunteer efforts. Our current ladies donate on average 220 hours of service each year. But many of these ladies have contributed thousands of hours of time to the facility thru the years.
We invite the community to an Anniversary Open House on Tuesday, April 25th from 5-7:00 p.m. in the hospital lobby to join us for some light refreshments, shared memories, and see some of the many amazing scrapbooks collected by the Auxiliary thru the years! These books highlight the many changes, such as the auxiliary dress styles from pinafores and caps to shirts or jackets, (all in the traditional and familiar pink color) to the many traditions the Pink Ladies still maintain.
Part of their motto has always been, “…in helping others, we give the best of ourselves” and we appreciate all that these volunteers from our past and present give. Thank you so much to all these wonderful volunteers!! All of you inspire us by your example and we thank you for your 60 years of service to the facility!