Greenwood Health Auxiliary marks 65 years, $1 million raised
“Come and see our little Op Shop. Bargains galore, they never stop. Clothes and toys, perhaps a stew pot. Our profits help you get better.”
To the tune of “This is the Way we Wash our Clothes,” attendees at the 65th anniversary gathering September 28 of the Greenwood Health Auxiliary sang their way through an afternoon marking the work of “Hands that Help to Heal.” Auxiliary members, with decades of community support, have raised over $1 million.
“Welcome to our anniversary. Twelve members 65 years ago, to 29 members today; some are active, some are not; but we’re always happy to see you,” said auxiliary president Mary Osmond. “Over 65 years, we’ve raised more than a million dollars for healthcare.”
More than 90% of that fundraising comes through the auxiliary’s Opportunity Shop, a thrift store located in the Greenwood Mall run by auxiliary volunteers to resell community clothing, household goods, books and other donations. Osmond thanked the mall owners, management, retail neighbours and cleaning staff for their ongoing, essential support; she also thanked a newer partnership with the Beehive Adult Service Centre in Aylesford: for 12 years of the Op Shop’s operations, the Beehive has collected items the store can’t use, recycling and reselling what they can as part of its own programming.
Three past auxiliary presidents were at the anniversary event, hosted at the Kingston Lions Club, which provides regular meeting space, too. Representatives from the Soldiers Memorial Health Auxiliary, which, at one time, was the “parent” organization for auxiliaries in Kingston, Greenwood and Nictaux; also attended: Soldiers and Greenwood are the only two still going. And, there were greetings from the Nova Scotia Association of Health Auxiliaries.
“It is hard to let go of a good thing,” said NSAHA president Elaine MacDonald, herself a member of a similar auxiliary serving the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow. “A lot of auxiliaries, provincially and in your communities, struggle with members and recruitment. Do you keep going? You continue, and you try and do better across the province. You keep plugging.
“Job well done. Sixty-five years. It is wonderful that you can celebrate. The reward is in your heart, feeling that you’ve been a part of something you can’t buy by yourself.”
Shirley Houghton joined the Greenwood auxiliary in 1985: “I had five children, and needed to get out with the ‘adults,’” she laughed. “I’ve had a good time in the auxiliary, and knew all the girls.”
Houghton joined as a military spouse, 24 years after the Greenwood group initially formed as military wives in 1961, posted with their husbands at CFB Greenwood, realized 20 per cent of Middleton’s Soldiers Memorial Hospital admissions were military dependents. Then the only auxiliary representing a Canadian Forces base, membership expanded to the wider community. Traditional fundraising coffee parties, clothing drives, holiday present wrapping at the mall and carnivals kept them busy, but the eventual opening of the Op Shop saw its work – and success raising money for local and regional health equipment, services and programs – take off.
The Op Shop regularly works with local churches, Lions, fire departments and volunteer groups. Sometimes, a family will come in for free replacement clothing and supplies after a fire. More recently, the auxiliary found a home for a large collection of donated books with the now village-run Lawrencetown library.
If you are interested in volunteering with the auxiliary, or with the Opportunity Shop, drop in to the Op Shop in the Greenwood Mall. There is a role for all kinds of “helping hands.”
