Days of prize draws and an afternoon party mark 101 years of volunteers giving time and talents to Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital.
The Royal Jubilee Hospital Auxiliary was formed in late 1924 to raise money for the hospital and its patients – work it continues today.
Now, the auxiliary has more than 60 volunteers who dedicate time and expertise to the gift shop in the Patient Care Centre at the Richmond Road hospital.
A registered charity, the auxiliary routinely commits to purchasing medical equipment required by the hospital.
Its history of shops dates back to the Thrift Shop on Fisgard Street in 1939, which relocated in 1959 to Johnson Street where it remained until 2004.
At that time, the little shop, now known as the Thrift Boutique, moved to Fort Street at Blanshard and focused on business attire and designer wear. That shop closed Dec. 28, 2005.
A mobile car first appears in auxiliary records in 1952 as the original on-site shop at the hospital, prompting the idea of a physical gift shop in 1962.
For decades, it has shifted iterations and items sold before landing its current location in the Patient Care Centre in 2011.
The auxiliary celebrates 101 years with a party at the hospital’s Patient Care Centre Atrium on June 25 from 2 to 7 p.m. Cutting the cake is set for 2:30 p.m.
