As the popularity of St. Luke Auxiliary Thrift Shoppe continues to climb, so, too, do the donations passed along to the hospital.

About 50 people attending St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary’s annual dinner and meeting Thursday at Marion Community Center learned the thrift shop had its biggest year ever in 2017, raking in $79, 273 on gross sales of $117,060.26.

“I do those figures and I say, ‘Is that really true?’” treasurer Eileen Sieger said. “We really did have that kind of profit from our shop after the expenses are paid.”

The auxiliary donated $73,076 to the hospital last year from revenue generated by the thrift shop, memorial donations, and hospital gift case sales.

“I think what’s really astounding is to see the total donations to the hospital since 1973,” Sieger said. “Did you see that figure? To the hospital and Living Center we have donated $441,173. That’s amazing.”

Contributions go beyond monetary gifts, as reflected in the evening’s theme, “Volunteers: Courage of a Lion, Gentleness of a Kitten.” Lenore Dieter reported that auxiliary members racked up 15,015 volunteer hours last year. At the state minimum wage of $7.25, that represents almost $109,000 of donated time.

St. Luke CEO Jeremy Ensey said progress is being made with renovations to the Living Center. Six resident rooms have been remodeled, coming on the heels of replacing all the windows.

“When they took some of the windows out, some of them pretty much just fell out,” Ensey said.

Replacement of an aging heating and air conditioning system should begin in March or April, Ensey said. Groundbreaking for a 1,000-square-foot addition will be this summer.

“Our whole goal is to make this more like a home, have it look like a home, have it feel like home for any resident who’s there,” Ensey said.

Cindy Samuelson, vice president of public relations with Kansas Hospital Association, spoke to attendees about ongoing political and financial issues in health care.

Outgoing president Elora Robinson handed over the reins of leadership to Mary Griffith. Other new officers included president-elect Julie Lowrance, vice president Janet Herzet, secretary Eileen Sieger, and treasurer Peggy Blackman.