Regina General Hospital gift shop changes hands after 4 decades under volunteer leadership

Volunteers of hospital gift shop hand over keys WATCH: The Regina General Hospital gift shop that closed over the pandemic is set to re-open under new management. Allison Bamford reports.

The Regina General Hospital (RGH) Auxiliary, a volunteer-led organization, is handing over the keys for the RGH gift shop after running the store for 42 years.

The Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) will take over operation.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the shop to close in March 2020 and the auxiliary was unable to reopen.

“We couldn’t make up a board and we couldn’t get enough volunteers to run the gift shop and if you’re going to do something you want to do it right,” said auxiliary president Norma Rohatyn, adding it was a difficult decision to disband and give up the shop.

Rohatyn joined the group 34 years ago. At that time, the gift shop was just a little closet that sold chocolate bars, pop and Beanie Babies.

“That year that I joined I think we gave $20,000 to the hospital for the furnishings and I kept thinking that’s a lot of chocolate bars and pop to get $20,000,” Rohatyn said.

The auxiliary began as a way to raise funds for special equipment and services at RGH.

The group relied on volunteers from more than just the auxiliary, including hospital volunteers, students and people who offered to knit and crochet baby clothing to be sold at the store.

All proceeds from the gift shop, bookstore and patient cart went to the hospital. Once the HRF was established, the donations went to that.

The auxiliary has contributed nearly $4.5 million dollars to HRF over the last four decades.

“There is no unit that has not been touched by their generosity,” said HRF president and CEO Dino Sophocleous.

“It’s very important that we continue that legacy if we can to the best of our ability.”

The HRF plans to renovate the gift shop and the bookstore before hopefully reopening in the fall.

Many auxiliary members, including Rohatyn, have already signed up to volunteer for HRF.

“Even though we are closing, we will still continue to volunteer with the Hospitals of Regina Foundation in anyway that we can to help them run the gift shop or run the book shop, whatever their fundraising activities are,” Rohatyn said.

'JUST WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE'

The auxiliary changed over the years. At its peak, it had upwards of 80 members, but at the time it disbanded there were 28 members with an average age of 82.

Despite dwindling membership, the goal behind the group stayed the same.

“I just wanted to help people,” said volunteer member Selma Marion, who joined the auxiliary around 2015.

She said she always admired the work of the auxiliary members as well as the group’s yellow uniforms.

“You had to be an auxiliary member to get the yellow jacket so I became an auxiliary member,” Marion said.

Marion spent most of her time behind the counter in the gift shop meeting new people and helping customers. Sometimes it was a tough job, she said, but they always treated people how they would want to be treated.

“Sometimes people come in here because they’re waiting or somebody’s dying and you listen to them and you feel for them and you talk to them,” she said.

“Sometimes they walk away and they say, ‘thank you very much, that really helped.’”

Sophocleous said it’s uncommon to find a donor group that volunteers for as many decades as the auxiliary.

He attributes the hard work and dedication to the generous attitudes of Saskatchewan people.

“It speaks to their commitment,” he said.

“It speaks to their love for this place and it speaks to the need that they feel to give back to their community and frankly this is what makes our foundation successful.”