Nearly 100 dedicated volunteers were honoured as the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary hosted their annual appreciation luncheon at The View at the Picton Golf and Country Club earlier this month.

The event is held annually to recognize the immense number of volunteer hours and decades of service put forth by the members of the Auxiliary-whether that be time spent at the hospital, the Second Time Around store or any of the various subcommittees and groups that support PECMHA’s fundraising efforts.

In many cases, the women and men who give so freely of their time and talents contribute to the Auxiliary in a multitude of ways. The Auxiliary carefully and dutifully go about raising money to ensure our beloved hospital will never go without what capital medical equipment is needed. The Auxiliary also has extensively Backed the Build for the new hospital. Such is the collective passion for the new PECMH, volunteers are stepping up to pledge an additional $1 million to provide a stopgap for new medical equipment pledges that may not be realized due to tough economic conditions and high interest rates.

The give by this group couldn’t be described as anything other than great. In 2022, 126 individuals contributed 20,022 hours to the life and operation of PECMHA. Based on a rate of even minimum wage, this equates to over $400,000 worth of work to the Auxiliary.

“You Matter. You make a difference. Your great generosity has a profound and lasting impact on the equipment and resources required for our hospital,” Auxiliary President Susan Quaiff said. “The Auxiliary board knows you choose to volunteer selflessly and without expectation of being recognized. But today we do just that.”

Members who reached certain incremental thresholds in contributed hours and/or years of service were presented with tokens of appreciation.

John Hardon and Pam Strachan were both recognized for their efforts at the Second Time Around store. Under the guidance of Ms. Strachan and serving as a testament to her dedication, the store has raised over $2.5 million over the last 12 years. Meanwhile, Mr. Hardon, the former owner of County Traders, has restructured and reorganized the furniture and housewares areas of the store.

Both were presented honorary lifetime PECMHA memberships for their major contributions to the Second Time Around store.