Saugeen Memorial Hospital Auxiliary members show off their quilted bags, created by Hospital Chaplain Darlene Rath, April 25.

Hub Staff

Thoughtful, quilted bags, each including a special note, were individually created for every member of Saugeen Memorial Hospital Auxiliary by Hospital Chaplain Darlene Rath and proudly shown during the April 25 Auxiliary meeting.

The ‘Dar’ bags, as they have become known, were a thank-you gift from Rath for the work that the Auxiliary does for the hospital. Saugeen Memorial Hospital Auxiliary President Ann Veyvara- Divisnki hoped to surprise Rath during the meeting where everyone showcased their bags, however, the Chaplain’s services were needed in Owen Sound.

Approximately 90 bags had been created, said Veyvara-Divinski as she toted that her bag was “really fun” and featured cows on a green pasture. “She thought of each person, consulted with a number of us and they were individualized to each person by how they are, whether they like butterflies or their darker colours, even made a couple for our male members.”

She added that the Auxiliary is “so grateful for what Dar does as a Chaplain for the hospital.”

The Auxiliary members are gearing up for a busy season of fundraising and on Saturday, May 13 will be volunteering and bussing tables at Armen’s Cafe in Southampton. This year, 2017 will be the 15th year that owner Armen Higgins will donate the day’s earnings to the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.

Auxiliary members will then be out for “Tag Day” on June 30 and July 1, where members station themselves around the area and collect donations. And on August 17 the Auxiliary will host its annual golf tournament.