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Castlegar Hospital Auxiliary continues to support community health

The local Castlegar auxiliary donated $48,316 to health care causes in the community last year.
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The Castlegar & District Hospital Auxiliary Society donating to the Castlegar & District Hospital Foundation’s Light Up 2017 campaign. Photo: Chelsea Novak

The members of the Castlegar & District Hospital Auxiliary Society have been hard at work in recent months and have tried to move forward in spite of restrictions created by COVID-19.

The society had to close down both its gift shop and thrift store in March.

The gift shop is usually located next to the lobby of the Castlegar and District Community Health Centre. That space has been temporarily converted into an extra waiting room for the centre to allow more space for physical distancing for patients. It will remain closed until the space is no longer needed by the health centre.

READ MORE: Interior Health sets up COVID-19 testing site in Castlegar

The society took the time that the Treasure Shop thrift store was closed to refresh and reorganize the store.

“It was a huge undertaking reorganizing, painting and preparing the shop for reopening,” said CHA president Wendy Schwab in a recent report to members.

“Thank you to all of the volunteers who came in to help with the transformation. We are all indebted to you.”

The Treasure Shop has now reopened with limited hours and COVID precautions in place.

In her report Schwab also shared some statistics from the British Columbia Association of Healthcare Auxiliaries.

The nine hospital auxiliaries in the Kootenay Boundary area donated more than $818,000 to health care in 2019.

With just 464 members in the area, Schwab said that figure is very impressive.

In addition, the groups donated another $29,200 towards awards for scholarships and bursaries.

The local Castlegar auxiliary donated $48,316 to health care causes in the community last year. Over $3,000 went to the food bank, $6,000 went towards local school meal programs, $9,000 went to Talarico Place for blinds and furniture, $2,500 went to scholarships and bursaries and $25,000 was donated to the Castlegar Hospital Foundation to purchase a new ventilator for the health care centre.



betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com

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Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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