Pursuing its primary goal of raising funds to enhance patient care, the BCH Auxiliary opened the Pink Door in 1974.

The sale of gently used merchandise at the Pink Door rivaled the gift shop as a source of income. BCH now had 172 beds and 24 bassinets.

In 1977, the Auxiliary began to purchase original artwork from local artists. These works were (and are) displayed in the hospital. In 1979, the BCH Auxiliary celebrated its 25^th Anniversary with a musical review.

In 1982, BCH Foundation President Eugene Wilson called the Auxiliary, “the heart of the hospital operation” as he accepted an Auxiliary check for $100,000 (for Phase II) raised by projects such as the Pink Door, baby pictures, and TV rentals.

Over the next dozen years, Auxiliary support of BCH steadily increased as fund-raising expanded. What was to become the annual Fashion Show debuted in 1986 as a “style show” featuring both models and clothing from the Pink Door. Now a major fund-raiser, last year, the Fashion Show raised $100,000 for the newly created BCH Cancer Research Fund.

Now, the work of the Auxiliary is woven into the fabric of the entire hospital. This includes major underwriting for projects such as the Breast Cancer Treatment Fund and capital projects such as the Women’s Imaging Center and the Neonatal Intensive Care Rooms at Foothills.

In addition, minigrants fund specific one-time needs, scholarships support staff education, gift shops stock supplies to fill patient, staff and visitor occasional needs, the canine corps engages patients, Auxiliary Board members assist hospital staff every year during the mission to Mante, clothing closets dress emergency room patients and artwork graces the walls in waiting and patient rooms.

In its 52 years, the BCH Auxiliary has raised more than $2 million to support BCH proving itself, in the words of David P. Gehant, BCH President, “an invaluable partner to this hospital and to the community it serves.

From a scant handful of services provided by the pioneering Auxilians in 1954, the number of areas in which volunteers serve has escalated. There are many volunteer jobs at the hospital including giving tours; delivering messages, supplies, flowers, and mail; circulating the library and coffee carts; performing hearing assessments and taking photos of infants; assisting patients and their families; and serving in the gift shop.

“The evolution of the Auxiliary in the fundraising arena has been dramatic. “New people with new ideas provided the momentum to turn us into a big business,” says John Nothnagel, President of the BCH Auxiliary. “We are fond of saying that, over the years, the Auxiliary has raised more than two million dollars for BCH. Although true, this statement obscures the tremendous surge in fund-raising. Last year, alone, the Auxiliary raised more than a quarter of a million dollars.”

When the Auxiliary organizational meeting was held in 1954, the announcement in the newspaper said, “a group will determine the committees to be set up and the members may choose what appeals most to them.”

That hasn’t changed. Join the BCH Auxiliary and donate your time, energy, talents and ideas to whatever appeals to you most.