Sunrise Auxiliary topples $1 mil. mark in donations

Monday, July 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

According to Director of Volunteers Janet Delaney, the Sunrise Auxiliary's volunteer programs not only serve as a vital lifeline to services within the hospital but also play an integral role in contributing to local community philanthropies.

The list of charities that benefit from the auxiliary includes the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, which receives children's clothing items purchased with auxiliary volunteer funds and donates them to underprivileged children.

Other recipients include Nevada Special Olympics, St. Vincent dining room for the homeless, Optimist Boys' Club for runaway boys, the Lions Club Sight Conservation Program, Candlelighters and Easter Seals.

Local schools and universities that benefit include UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada and the Helen J. Stewart Elementary School for the mentally challenged.

At UNLV, about 25 applicants are chosen each year to receive premed, radiology and nursing scholarships. Since this program began, the Sunrise Auxiliary has directed nearly $80,000 in premed scholarships to the university.

The volunteer-operated gift shop at Columbia Sunrise Hospital has remained the largest single contributor of funds to the auxiliary, according to Becky Lahr, who serves as treasurer for the auxiliary and buyer for the shop. Lahr began her long career with the hospital as a gift-shop employee on the hospital's opening day.

"Out of all the programs we've created over the years, the gift shop has made the most money since I've been here by just selling little things like flowers, small gifts and cards," she said.

Other successful programs have included: leather sales, which generate funds through selling leather products; the Teddy Bear Clinic, an auxiliary-assisted program that allows children to bring their Teddy bears into the hospital for medical treatment and checkups; fashion shows, featuring volunteer models; and the Memorial Scholarship Fund, which enables friends and family of the deceased to donate money toward a scholarship in the name of their lost loved ones.

The Sunrise Auxiliary maintains a staff of 126 adult volunteers, who undergo a two-hour orientation before assuming their duties, and 40 junior volunteers, who must complete a 12-hour orientation followed by an exam.