Auxiliary of Lehigh Valley Hospital

The Auxiliary of Lehigh Valley Hospital has roots that date back more than a century. Caring deeply about the health and well-being of their community, 13 compassionate and civic-minded women formed the Auxiliary of Allentown hospital to raise money for the city’s first hospital. After collecting $5,300, they bought a plot of land at 17th and Chew streets in Allentown, and in 1899, they opened The Allentown Hospital. Decades later, another passionate group of women held a plant sale at an old stone farmhouse near where Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest stands today, marking the beginning of The Auxiliary of Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Today, The Auxiliary of Lehigh Valley Hospital – which combines the Cedar Crest and 17th Street auxiliaries – has more than 300 members who run three bustling gift shops, with all proceeds benefiting the two hospitals. Members also coordinate a number of vendor sales and other fundraising events throughout the year.

The Auxiliary is the only one in the nation to sponsor three endowed clinical chairs. The cost of funding a chair is $2 million, and each one supports education and clinical research in a specialized field of medicine. The Auxiliary’s chairs support: critical care, emergency medicine and cancer care. The group also helps to enhance patient care at LVHN’s John and Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center through yearly contributions.

Annual membership: $10

Lifetime membership: $100

Interested in joining The Auxiliary of Lehigh Valley Hospital? Call 888-402-LVHN or pick up a brochure in the gift shop.