The Fairfield Harbour volunteers have been busy making afghans, baby blankets, eyeglass cases, surgery pillows, and fidgets. You might ask WHAT is a fidget?? These are fun tactile mats with zippers, buttons, scrunchies, animated key chains, thread spools tied to ribbons, and just about anything that moves or makes noise. Next, you might ask, HOW are these fidgets used? Well, Carolina East has many patients who are a bit anxious, lonely, suffering from memory loss, etc., and need to fidget with their hands to relieve the sometimes-overwhelming feelings patients might experience in a hospital. As a retired elementary school teacher, I used fidgets to help calm children, (which I called getting their wiggles out) so they could focus better on their tasks. As adults, many of us do something with our hands like gardening, painting, sewing, or knitting. It relaxes and calms us. I call gardening my therapy. 😊 The fidget mats work the same way for patients who are in the hospital and feeling a bit stressed about their situation and need something to do to help calm them and relieve that stress.
The Auxiliary has also been collecting books and magazines for hospital patients. The medical center is in critical need of more literature for their library, so the Auxiliary volunteers have been collecting materials for patients to read during their stay. We will be collecting books and magazines from the public during the Fairfield Harbour Yard Sale this April 6th, so we would greatly appreciate your support with this endeavor. Thank you! We will also be running our own booth at the yard sale for the Auxiliary, in addition to our wonderful breakfast and bake sale featuring our famous warm cinnamon buns at the Community Center from 7:45-11:30 on the morning of April 6th.
We are also looking forward to the Auxiliary’s annual Spring Potluck for its volunteers on March 27th. Last year’s was a lot of fun with good food, great company, and terrific prizes for all! We would love for new members to join in with us in helping our hospital patients and staff. The FFH Hospital Auxiliary meets on the third Monday of almost every month, at the Community Center from 9:30 to 10:30. The auxiliary does not hold meetings during the summer months of July and August. It’s a great way to meet new friends and become involved in our community in helping Carolina East Medical Center. Please join us and see what we’re all about. Our organization is completely free of cost and for membership information you may contact our Chairperson, Ruth Blackwell or Pat Geres and Judy Gates, Membership Chairs.