Spring 2004

Message from the Dean | Hearst Helps Mentor | Carter Bequest Supports Professorship | Lovelace Gives to Nursing Students | Alumni Create Endowment| Create Income for Today, Leave a Legacy Forever

by Kristy O’Malley

The College of Nursing has an ally in Albuquerque—the Lovelace Medical Center Auxiliary. The group has helped more than 56 nursing students with about $60,000 in scholarships and plans to continuing giving for many years to come.

The auxiliary was founded in the early 1950s by a group of women affiliated with the Bataan Methodist Memorial Hospital, now Lovelace Medical Center. According to Pam Dickerhoof, who has served as director of volunteer services since 1979, the auxiliary is a separately incorporated charitable organization with 501(c) (3) status whose mission is to assist patients and their families during their stay at Lovelace.

The auxiliary raises the majority of its funds through its gift shop at the Gibson location, and also participates in additional specialty events such as book sales. It also plans to take over the hospital’s arts and crafts fair this year, which will help bring in additional scholarship funds.

Besides offering scholarships through the College of Nursing, the auxiliary engages in other educational community service activities. “We completely underwrite the breast cancer seminar here [at Lovelace] so that it’s free to the public,” says Dickerhoof. The auxiliary covers the cost of seminar materials, speakers and workshop leaders. The auxiliary donated $10,000 last year to Albuquerque Public Schools in support of Operation School Bell, an initiative requiring school uniforms. It also supports Cuidando Los Niños, a homeless children’s organization.

Currently the auxiliary has about 100 members and volunteers. A board of elected officers determines where and how funds are disbursed. Dickerhoof says that one does not have to be a member to volunteer with the auxiliary, but becoming a long-term member requires only a small fee. “It’s a two-pronged approach here,” says Dickerhoof. “Sometimes people choose to belong to the auxiliary, but it doesn’t matter either way. They’re still very valuable to what we want to accomplish.”

When asked how it feels to help so many students get through the difficult challenge of higher education, Dickerhoof is animate about the satisfaction and joy her work brings. “It’s amazing,” she says. “I’ve been here so long that I have seen what education can do. I had somebody stop by the other day and thank [the Auxiliary] for the scholarship that got her started.” That former student is now a physician’s assistant at Lovelace Medical Center. “Education is the key to so many successes in life,” Dickerhoof says. “What a marvelous thing to have made a difference in just one person’s life.”

Dickerhoof expresses concern about the nurse shortage in New Mexico and anticipates that the Auxiliary will probably increase next year’s donation to the College of Nursing. The two organizations have established a mutually respectful relationship. Dickerhoof reports that the College of Nursing staff has always been very gracious and communicative with the auxiliary, which will likely help this relationship to flourish for many years, helping future students to achieve success.