Gonzales Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Gift Shop seeks volunteers

The Gonzales Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Gift Shop has been serving the hospital since 1975 and the current members are looking for new volunteers.

Gift Shop manager (and outgoing president of the Texas Association of Hospital Auxiliaries) Betty Neubauer and GMH Auxiliary president Katherine Crawley talked about the importance of the gift shop to hospital.

“It was started in the mid 1970s by the Pilot Club that's in town. Their president at that time helped to initiate and begin the auxiliary gift shop. And since that time, they raise money for the hospital. They've contributed a lot to the hospital. They support the hospital when they have their gala each year,” Crawley said.

“Everything we do is volunteer. There's no pay coming to anyone for things that we do. It's all to help the hospital and our community,” Crawley added.

The gift shop sells an assortment of items from cups to pillows to socks to flowers and more.

“It's a great deal and that's fun for people who are coming from work to see a friend. They can come in here and grab something and go. If it's in the morning, or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we do hope to get to extend our hours in the future as we build our membership and how much volunteer,” Crawley added.

Volunteers put in more than 100 hours of their time setting up the gift shop and working to sell items to the public.

“It is a fun place to work. And the thing that I enjoy are the customers that come in and buy things are looking for someone special and we hope to have that gift,” Neubauer said.

As of right now, the auxiliary gift shop has $20,000 earmarked to help with the new renovations to the hospital, Crawley said.

The group has already been spreading the word for new volunteers and recruiting new members.

“We've just started a membership push and the way that I am recruiting members, me personally, which we're all supposed to be talking to friends and families and acquaintances, but I explained to them that this is going to help support our hospital to buy equipment they may not have the money for on their own,” Crawley said.

“People think that hospitals make a lot of money. They do not; they're only given certain amounts of what they charge. They don't have a lot of money, so auxiliaries across the country are very beneficial,” Crawley added.

The Gonzales Memorial Hospital Auxiliary also provides scholarships for students that are interested in nursing.