WILLIAMSBURG — The auxiliary of Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center’s last elected officers recently presented the hospital with a final gift of more than $100,000 to help purchase a second 3-D mammography device.
The auxiliary was a victim of aging membership and dual-income families with little time to volunteer for the charity’s year-round work of fundraising, Sentara Health said.
The auxiliary served the former Williamsburg Community Hospital and transitioned to Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center when it opened in 2006.
“It was a big part of our lives,” says Marie Bond, outgoing president, who has served in the role four different times. “This was during a time when men worked and women volunteered. It made me feel that we were helping to make our community better.”
Over the decades, Bond says, the auxiliary raised and donated more than $2 million for medical equipment, furniture and programs. This included funding free mammograms for uninsured patients since 1998 to the tune of $650,000, an effort led by outgoing Treasurer Cathy Adams, which won national recognition from the American Hospital Association.
“We are grateful for the volunteers of the auxiliary who spent decades supporting our hospital and our mammography program,” says Amber Price, president. “This generous gift will help bring advanced mammography services to more women in our community.”
The group ran the Pineapple Gift Shop all year, held gala fundraisers and harvest balls, the Mistletoe Market and tree lighting ceremony at Christmas, and hosted an ice cream social on the Fourth of July. It was notably the only community organization allowed to use the Wren Courtyard at the William & Mary for such an event.
At its peak, the auxiliary claimed more than 300 members, according to Sentara Health. It was down to less than half that number when the organization made the decision to disband a few years ago.
A small group continued working beyond that time to finalize their business, close accounts, transfer the gift shop operation to the hospital, and donate the last of the auxiliary’s funds. Through more than 60 years and two hospitals, the auxiliary worked to fill financial gaps and enhance the operation for patients and staff, Sentara Health said.
“We felt It was our hospital,” Bond recalls. “That never changed. We wish them every success. Our hearts are with them.”
