Ice cream social Thursday evening benefits hospital auxiliary

WORLAND – The Washakie Hospital Auxiliary is hosting their 43rd annual ice cream social Thursday evening in front of Banner Health Washakie Medical Center from 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Washakie Hospital Auxiliary ice cream social chair Meg Stark stated that there will be 75-80 cakes, 38 gallons of ice cream and carnival like games. The Worland Girl Scouts will be offering hot dogs, chips and drinks as well, she added.

The auxiliary uses the funds generated by the ice cream social to provide funds for aquarium supplies, supplies Dum-Dum suckers for all areas of the hospital, gives new mothers a free goodie package filled with a feeding spoon, bib, burp pad and a hand-knitted cap, scales for all cardiac therapy patients, tummy and neck pillows and more.

They also provide comfort, directions and run the gift shop, which also helps pay for the items they provide. “It’s giving back and helping people be more comfortable because walking into the hospital does not give you a warm and fuzzy feeling,” Washakie Hospital Auxiliary member Meg Stark said. The gift shop has items that cannot be obtained anywhere else in town and the items are reasonably priced, she added.

The auxiliary, made up entirely of volunteers, does a variety of different activities for not only the hospital but the community as well. Some of the community activities include assisting with the bi-monthly blood drive at the Worland Senior Citizens Center, providing scholarships for high schoolers in Worland and Ten Sleep who are going into a medical-related field, providing in-house scholarships for Washakie Medical Center employees who are furthering their education and assisting with the tri-monthly diabetes clinic.

Stark also mention that the auxiliary is in desperate need of volunteers. She stated that new blood is needed as most of the members are getting older and can’t do as much as they once did. She added that she would like to see some of the programs they used to do started again but they can’t because they do not have enough volunteers.