September 18, 2023 FFH Hospital Auxiliary
Happy fall to everyone in the Harbour! The volunteers at Carolina East Hospital Auxiliary have been very busy over the summer months gearing up for the fall season helping the hospital staff and their patients. First, is the Fairfield Harbour Yard & Bake Sale which takes place at the Community Center on Saturday, October 7th beginning at 7:45 am. The volunteers will be making warm breakfast casseroles and quiches along with fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls every 20-30 minutes. We will also sell sweet treats like brownies, muffins, loaves of specialty bread, and bundt cakes. We are trying to include nut free and gluten free items, as well. Mary Lou Infinito is heading up our booth at the yard sale where volunteers and all residents are invited to donate some of their gently used items from home that they no longer need. If you have anything that you want to part with, including fall and Christmas holiday decorations, then please bring them by the Community Center around 7:00 the evening of Friday, October 6th or early the following morning of the yard sale. The hospital is in desperate need of books and magazines for patients, so you may drop these off at our booth, too. All funds raised by the bake sale and our yard sale booth will be used to purchase yarn, fabric, Poly-Fil… for our hospital projects.
Shaellen Thompson, who is the Carolina East Medical Center’s volunteer manager, has requested that the auxiliary make more baby blankets and receiving blankets, eyeglass cases, mastectomy pillows, adult beanie hats for the colder winter months, and chemo pads, which are warm lap blankets that the nurses place over the laps of patients who are receiving chemotherapy at the Cancer Center. As you can see, the need is great, and our volunteers always rise to the challenge, but we would love to see some new friends jump in with great ideas to help the hospital auxiliary keep moving forward. The volunteers of the auxiliary will offer free classes to learn to crochet directly following our monthly Monday meetings and on Thursday afternoons from 1-3 in one of the activity rooms. Please contact Ruth Blackwell and/or Sue Bischoff for more info.
On that note, we will be hosting a social Friendship Gathering for volunteers and neighbors in our community who would like to join us for wine and cheese, along with some delicious desserts. This will take place on October 18th at 6:30 pm at the Community Center. It’s sure to be a lot of fun and a great way to meet new friends. The following Saturday, Oct. 21st, Fairfield Harbour will have its annual Fall Craft Fair. This is a great opportunity to begin your holiday shopping early and collect some new items for decorating the house for the holidays, while at the same time helping neighborhood crafters sell their wares. The auxiliary will be on hand to sell and serve lunch and drinks to the vendors and shoppers alike. Ms. Thompson from Volunteer Services said her department will cover the cost of all the ingredients that go into the delicious potato soup and chili that will be served. Thank you, Sha!
Before we know it, the holidays will be upon us and the auxiliary will be ready for Project Baby Blanket, where we make blankets and beautiful handknit baby beanies to give to every newborn during the month of December. Lucille Durst, who has headed this project for years, said that everything is right on schedule to deliver the blankets to the hospital in November. The next BIG project is Operation Christmas Stocking where we make stockings and fill them with all kinds of goodies. Santa and Mrs. Claus are scheduled to hand deliver 200 stockings to patients who are in the hospital over the holidays on December 22nd. Ruth Blackwell, the stocking chair, assured us that she and her team of elves will have the stockings stuffed and delivered in plenty of time.
The FFH Hospital auxiliary meets on the third Monday of each month at the Community Center from 9:30 to 10:30. It’s a great way to meet new friends and become involved in our community and help Carolina East Medical Center. Please join us and see what we’re all about. There is no cost for joining. For membership information you may contact Ruth Blackwell or Darlene Madorma, Membership Chair.
