A Brief History of the Dartmouth General Hospital Auxiliary…and our Achievements Over the Past 53 Years… Organizational meetings of our DGH Auxiliary were held on May 9th and June 6th, 1973, with 30 prospective members attending. On June 7th, 1977, the DGH Auxiliary was “Incorporated” and was granted “Registered Charity” status. The DGH hospital officially opened on January 14th, 1977. Total bed count was 114 with inpatients admitted in March, 1977. At present, our hospital has; 195 Beds (includes 10 overflow beds) of these: 8 ICU Beds, 43 Surgery Beds, 6 Palliative Care Beds, 8 Operating Rooms (2 dedicated to Orthopedics, 3 Endoscopy Procedure Rooms, 18 Outpatient Clinic Rooms and 26 ER Beds. The DGH Auxiliary has always been active within the DGH. Previously, members served night lunches to patients, handled television rentals, staffed the Auxiliary and Pastoral Care offices, the Medical Library as well as two members volunteered in the Pharmacy Department. Our Corner Gift Shoppe is opened and staffed by DGH Auxiliary Volunteers, Monday through Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4pm. For many years the DGH Auxiliary has offered a Bursary of $1,500.00, through a competition for six high schools, to one graduate student pursuing a medically related program at university or community college. Since 2003, the bursary is shared with the Student selected and the Post-Secondary Institution. In earlier years, our Auxiliary fundraising projects included such events as an Annual Dinner Theater, Holly Tree Bazaar, Fashion Show, 50/50 Draw at AHL hockey games, Winter Carnival Snowball, concession stand at Shearwater Air Show, a Harvest Ball, a community fair “Agora”, many raffles, art shows, celebrity auctions and card parties. Now, our fundraising projects include the Holly Tree Bazaar, St. Patrick’s Day Bake Sale, numerous raffles (Joyce Sawler’s) Christmas Baskets, Quilt Sales), Line Dancing Evenings, Chili Lunches and BBQ’s. Our Corner Gift Shoppe continues to be our major source of revenue. In 2006, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dartmouth General Hospital, and with additional financial support of $5,000 from Capital Health, the “Healing Garden” finally became a reality at the DGH. One of our members, Val Conrad, fulfilled the role of Project Manager. During the building of the garden, Val approached several businesses in the area for sponsorship. Conrad Brothers generously donated time and equipment in preparing the site. It is now used by many individuals (including local police officers) as a “Peaceful Haven”. The Auxiliary provided $37,000.00 to purchase a series of nine movable security walls for the DGH Emergency Department which provide greater security, privacy and cleanliness for the patients on site. We also funded $120,000.00 over a three-year period to purchase a “Sim Man - High Fidelity Simulation and Medical Training Robot” for the DGH staff. The impressive physical presence of the volunteers of the Dartmouth General Hospital Auxiliary and the significant financial contributions it makes to the DGH, makes the Auxiliary a critical part of the health care team within the Hospital. The many volunteer hours our members contribute to running the Corner Shoppe and their personal support given through their annual unique fundraising events provide a very significant financial contribution to the DGH each year. The DGH Auxiliary’s present major responsibilities remain the recruiting of volunteers and the organization, running and staffing of their primary fund raising activity: The Corner Gift Shoppe. Thanks to our wonderful Corner Shoppe Managers, its Buyers and other staff Volunteers, the Corner Shoppe is the main source of funds raised by the DGH Auxiliary each year. The Buyers choices of stocking unique inventory items for sale such as Maude Lewis items, Indigenous Tote Bags and Natural Stone Bracelets (380 Bracelets sold in a seven-month period!) and a new “Book Cart” are a constant drawing card for our customers. In September 2017, the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) took over the authority and responsibility for recruiting, training and placement of new DGH volunteers into the many other roles allocated to volunteers within the DGH Hospital: Information Desks, Visiting Volunteers. In March 2020, construction of our new Corner Gift Shoppe was finally completed in our new location in the main lobby of the Hospital. Unfortunately, after opening for only a week, Covid-19 hit, forcing us to close the new Gift Shop until 28 February 2022. We also moved our Auxiliary Office and Gift Shop Buyers storage to a new location. Despite two years of severe Covid-19 restrictions, our members continued to support the DGH Foundation yearly Brightwood Golf Club Tournament, Seaside FM Radio-thon and their Annual Lobster Dinner fundraising events. Funds raised by the Auxiliary are donated to the DGH to purchase items which would not ordinarily be available through their budget. We also fulfill financial pledges to the DGH Foundation. In 2017, our Auxiliary pledged $40,000.00 a year over 5 years to support the hospital’s new “Above and Beyond Capital Campaign”. In February 2022, the Auxiliary presented the DGH Charitable Foundation President & CEO, Mr. Stephen Harding and the Board Members with our final payment of $40,000.00 to fulfill our $200,000.00 pledge. To honour our Auxiliary, a Plaque was placed in the new DGH ICU Unit, Room 2915 in recognition of our Auxiliary’s over $2.2-Million-dollar contribution made to the Hospital since 1973. This makes our DGH Auxiliary number 5 on the DGH Foundation Donors List for our continued loyalty and financial support to the Dartmouth General Hospital and the DGH Foundation. It has been a busy past several years for the DGH Auxiliary with many new and important donations to record totaling $153,000.00 to the DGH Foundation over those years: a. DGH Emergency Department: New Bedside Tray Tables: $11,000.00; b. DGH Deanne Reeve Pelvic Suite: $10,000.00; c. DGH Emergency Department: New Telemetry System: $62,000.00; d. DGH Intensive Care Unit: New Vein Finder: $30,000.00; e. DGH 3rd East Floor: New “MASIMO” Upgrade (Non-Invasive Patient Monitoring Devices and Sensors): $35,000.00; f. DGH Palliative Care Floor: New “Cuddle Beds” Campaign: $5,000.00 It is also, a time to record several DGH Auxiliary, behind the scenes, activities by our volunteer members, such as: a. Our Secretary sending out all the DGH Auxiliary’s “Thank You”, “Sympathy” and “Get Well” Cards and recording all Agendas and General/Annual minutes; b. The review and update of the DGH Auxiliary’s new “Constitution and By-Laws” on 5 October 2025; c. The ongoing development of the new DGH Auxiliary Web Site; d. The collection of “Non-Perishable Food Items” for Christ Church; e. The possibility of instituting “Guest Speakers” for General/Annual meetings; and, for the future, the DGH Auxiliary will continue to provide Volunteer and Financial support to the DGH and DGH Foundation in their sole mission “to support innovation and exceptional care at the Dartmouth General Hospital by connecting with those who believe in the Dartmouth General Hospital and the communities it serves”. And also to support the DGH Foundation in their fundraising priorities “to enhance the DGH Emergency Department, acquire high-priority equipment, further develop the Fred Smithers Orthopedic Centre for Care and advance health equity for our communities and infrastructure changes such as the “DGH Drive-Thru Blood Collection Clinic” (26,245 visits in 2025/2026), the “Dianna Reeves Pelvic Health Suite” and the “New Activities of Daily Living Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy Suite” that will improve the overall DGH patient experience. The President of the DGH Auxiliary continues to sit as a voting member on the Board of the Dartmouth General Hospital Charitable Foundation. DGH Auxiliary celebrated its 50th Anniversary on the 6th of June 2023. Our present membership is 87 members. They continue to be extremely proud of the success and achievements of their Auxiliary over those years. It is with thanks to them and their personal commitment to volunteering in our community that has made all of this possible. Remember: “Giving is not a business transaction. It is a human transaction.” (Updated 9 June 2026/JRL (With thanks to Heather Otto and Joyce Sawler for the original compilation of this history.)