ALTADENA GUILD OF THE

HUNTINGTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Founded February 14, 1951

FOUNDERS

ALTADENA GUILD: How It Got Started

The Altadena Guild of the Huntington Memorial Hospital held its first recorded general meeting on Friday, March 16, 1951, at a tea in the home of one of its founding members, Mrs. Fred Nash. It was the first of a number of Guilds founded in order to extend and enlarge the work of the Women's Auxiliary of the Huntington Hospital (Pasadena, California) which had been formed 25 years earlier. The Guild's active membership was limited to 50 women, and an unlimited number of associates was permitted. Each active member was required to earn and contribute $10.00 through fund raising, and perform a minimum of 10 volunteer service hours per year. Volunteer service options included working in the hospital, helping with field trips for nurses, furnishing new buildings, providing equipment for the maternity wing, and making jams and jellies.

In February 1952, the Guild held its first benefit, a tour of three Altadena homes, yielding a profit of $428, which the Guild donated to the Hospital for furnishing the offices of the Director and Secretary of the new research building. This began our long relationship with the Research Clinics, which later became the Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI, pronounced him-ree). Donations from the Guild over the years have been used for the purchase of equipment, library books, and subscriptions to medical journals, as well as for funding fellowships and special grants.