Friday, January 24, 2025 | St. Lawrence County, NY
POTSDAM — The Canton-Potsdam Hospital Guild celebrated the reopening of its gift shop with a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, Dec. 2.
The shop had been closed for over four years, due to the pandemic and hospital reconstruction.
The Canton-Potsdam Hospital Guild Gift Shop is now in a newly designed space just inside the main entrance to the hospital, for visitors, community members and hospital staff.
Store hours are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The shop offers a variety of items, including children’s toys, pottery, jewelry, lotions, and home decor.
The shop serves as one of the guild’s largest fundraisers, contributing over $254,000 from 2007-2018 in support of the programs, such as fulfilling the Guild's $150,000 pledge to the hospital, four nursing scholarships and maintenance of the butterfly garden.
A total contribution of over $2 million has been donated to the hospital from the guild’s many fundraisers in its 72 year history, first started in 1952.
Laurie Cappello, Hospital Guild President, thanked guild members who helped with the gift shop reopening, including shop manager Grace Vesper, volunteer coordinator Sue Dougherty, treasurer Mary Jane Smalling, Donna Schwab and Kathy Warr.
Cappello also thanked the hospital administration, including President Donna McGregor, Foundation VP April Grant, Facilities Director Dereck Dodd, and their staff.
McGregor expressed gratitude to guild volunteers serving as ambassadors for the hospital, in addition to their many donations over the years.
When the gift shop closed at the beginning of COVID, it was “missed by our patients, their families and our staff,” said Michael P. Griffin, Canton-Potsdam Hospital Board chair. “We appreciate your hard work and financial support in making this happen.”
