Originally called the Ladies Aid Society, the group was formed on November 12, 1907 – five years before the opening of the first Yarmouth Hospital.
In the early 1900’s the citizens of Yarmouth were struggling to fund and organize a hospital. Their task was monumental, but the Ladies Aid Society had to begin somewhere. Their first fundraising endeavour was a Hospital Bazaar held in 1910 which raise the grand sum of $449.00! From its humble beginnings, until the opening of the Vancouver Street facility in 1925, the ladies donated a total of $23,294.89 towards the progress and development of the Yarmouth Hospital. In 1961 the Society changed its name to the Women’s Auxiliary of the Yarmouth Hospital.
The Women’s Auxiliary has contributed in excess of $3,000,000.00 to the Yarmouth Regional Hospital since 1907. This figure includes a lump sum donation of $1,000,000.00 to the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation for the hospital expansion campaign in 1997.
The two main fundraising activities of the Auxiliary are the Gift Shop and the Hospital Hullabaloo (formerly the Hospital Bazaar). These two key activities result in approximately $100,000.00 in revenue each year. The Auxiliary contributes, on average $80,000 towards the purchase of hospital equipment annually. The remainder of its revenue is channeled into investments to be used.
