SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The Sacred Heart Hospital Guild is marking 75 years of supporting the hospital, and members of the media and the community are invited to celebrate the milestone.
The Guild is an all-volunteer group that operates Heartfelt Gifts, the gift shop in the lobby at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, and supports the hospital in other ways. After its humble start 75 years ago, sales from the store and its previous iteration at University District have allowed the Guild to donate nearly $5 million to the hospital for building projects and equipment.
A public celebration will be held Monday, May 19, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the RiverBend lobby. Many current, former and honorary Guild members will be on hand to celebrate the anniversary and be available for interviews.
The Guild started out with nine founding members who sold gum and candy out of a repurposed phone booth. The phone booth soon expanded to include a table and then a cart that could take goods throughout the hospital. By 1957, it had its own shop in the hospital.
From its outset, the Guild’s purpose was to support the hospital and patient care. The financial donations are the most visible show of that support. But behind the scenes, Guild members staffing Heartfelt Gifts serve as an outlet or someone who is there to listen when a patient or visitor is going through a difficult time. Guild members volunteer elsewhere in the hospital, pitching in wherever there is a need.
Some Guild members are former hospital employees who want to maintain a connection to the hospital while having a positive impact at the same time. Others have their own reasons for volunteering, including some who benefited from care at the hospital or had someone close to them do so and saw this as a way to show their gratitude.
One common thread among all Guild members is a camaraderie that comes from knowing they are contributing to the hospital and the community.
If you would like to schedule an interview with a Guild member in advance or if you have any questions, email Jim Murez at jmurez@peacehealth.org.
By the numbers:
- 1950: Guild forms, originally called Base Area #2 Hospital Guild. The name came from a Civil Defense designation for a hospital that would receive wounded and sick from the front lines during a war
- 1957: Guild gets a full-sized gift shop in hospital
- 2001: Guild gives $1 million, its largest gift ever, toward construction of the new Sacred Heart Medical Center, which would eventually be named Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
- 2017: Guild gives $1 million for construction of Ronald McDonald House on the RiverBend campus; to be named Heartfelt House
- $126: Value of Guild’s first gift, a sewing machine, to hospital in 1951
- $500,000: Guild’s gift to fund of Nursing Excellence Endowment
- $4.7 million: Total dollar figure of Guild donations since its inception
- 63: Total number of current Guild members
About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a non-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, nearly 3,200 physicians and clinicians, more than 160 clinics and 9 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.
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