Community

Auxiliary raises record-breaking $555K for Stony Brook ELIH

For more than 65 years, a dedicated group of volunteers with the Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary has been raising money for Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital — and 2022 was a record-breaker, bringing in $555,000 for the Greenport hospital, according to auxiliary president Helene Fall. 

The organization fundraises throughout the year with events like the Dream Green Extravaganza giveaway, a “Ladies Day on the Links” golf outing, fashion shows, an “Italian Nite Dinner” and an annual car raffle.

Auxiliary volunteers also staff the hospital’s Opportunity Shop, a popular thrift store in Greenport Village, and plan to reopen the hospital’s gift shop this year.

Donations from the auxiliary have helped the hospital purchase vital new equipment, including a new ventilator, Ms. Fall said. They also help defray operational costs and have had a direct impact on programs and services offered to patients. 

“I am both grateful and proud that the ELIH Auxiliary continues to support Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital,” said chief administrative officer Paul Connor. “They continue to be an asset to the hospital and the community.”

Ms. Fall has served as auxiliary president for six years, during which its members have raised more than $2.3 million. Since the group’s founding in 1905, the organization has raised over $20 million for ELIH. 

Ms. Fall acknowledges the role community has played in the auxiliary’s success.

“It’s not only through the volunteer work, but it’s our community who supports us, right?” she said. “Because they have to come in and buy stuff at the Opportunity Shop, they have to purchase tickets for our various fundraisers, so it really is a community effort. We’re very grateful to the community as well.”

As thrilled as auxiliary members are about reaching such a milestone, they are looking to surpass that amount this year.

“This is now the challenge, this is the new benchmark,” Ms. Fall said. “Now we have to say, OK, we’re there, we have to go beyond that in 2023.”