SEQUIM — Through its efforts over five-plus decades, the Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild celebrated a milestone of giving more than $2.5 million to local medical and emergency efforts.
As is tradition, the guild held its annual volunteer appreciation luncheon on Dec. 12 at Olympic Theatre Arts with food, drinks, games and donations.
With more than 40 people in attendance, the core of the all-volunteer guild with a median age of women in their 70s still sees a few dedicated volunteers in their 90s who continue to help at the guild’s Thrift Shop on Bell Street.
“This is a huge part of these ladies’ lives,” Guild President Deb Carlson said.
Her mom, Virginia Peter, 94, is one of a handful of 90-year-olds who continue to volunteer, along with Darlin Beach, 90, who said she likes that donations and funds stay in the community.
“The ladies are wonderful,” Beach said. “It feels like a family. They keep me going.”
Donations help agencies
During the luncheon, Carlson presented $30,385 to four agencies, including $9,585 to the Sequim Police Department, $8,000 to radio station KSQM 91.5 FM, $7,000 to Clallam County Fire District 3 and $5,800 to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
The police department will purchase three automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for three new vehicles, plus new AED pads and first aid supplies for the full fleet.
The radio station will replace an aged generator at its Blue Mountain station in case the Sequim station goes down during an emergency.
When “Sassy Susan” Sorensen of KSQM said she learned about the donation, she joked with the crowd that she “was speechless, and I’m not speechless very often.”
The fire district will use the donation for a Raizer Lift Chair to assist patients who cannot get up on their own.
Community Paramedic Mark Karjalainen said one person can safely lift a patient with no assistance, and they’ll use it to train care facilities to encourage them to purchase one of their own and to cut down on non-emergency calls.
Other funds will be used to continue training for the ultrasound machine the guild purchased last year for the fire district to determine certain issues, such as the severity of an injury and if they should be transported for specialized treatment.
Volunteer Hospice will use the donation to help four support staff attend the Washington State Hospice Palliative Care Organization in Chelan, and to purchase volunteer training modules to better support patients and families.
In the spring, the guild also donates to other efforts, such as Peninsula College’s nursing program, to help with scholarships.
Guild members vote on all requests for donations.
Thrift shop
The Sequim Thrift Shop, located at 204 W. Bell St., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday on the first and third weekends of each month starting in March. Volunteers accept donations, starting the new year in February, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Monday and Tuesday.
For more about volunteering and the Guild, call 360-683-7044, email sequimdhg@gmail.com or visit the Thrift Shop’s Facebook page.
Guild Vice President Sandra Berryhill-Huish said they welcome estate donations and have a trailer available for pickups.
Donations Manager Randi Cooper said they’ve seen jewelry collections and silver sets donated through the years.
“We wouldn’t be in business without the community,” she said. “We wouldn’t have given 2-plus million without them.”
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
