Every year, all the Hazel Hawkins Hospital volunteers get together for lunch and celebrate the joint effort that makes up the Hospital Auxiliary. On May 18, highly successful and prolific writer, Dave Eggers, entertained the group with a few insightful quips about Hollister-brand clothing and his personal connection to the Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
Eggers lives in the Bay Area and has won over 38 awards for his fiction and non-fiction writing. His break-out novel, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was written when he was in his early twenties. He has written three screenplays and his book, Hologram for a King, has just been released as a film.
In his charming and wandering way, Eggers explained that his great-great grandfather, T.S. Hawkins, helped establish the town of Hollister and build the first Hazel Hawkins Hospital. Eggers recently re-published Hawkins’ original 1913 journal, Some Recollections of a Busy Life. In it, Hawkins told of his deep grief for the loss of his granddaughter, Hazel. “She was my constant companion and we loved each other with a devotion I had never known before,” Hawkins wrote.
Hawkins spent years in sorrow but finally came upon a meaningful project that inspired him. “I had long been considering some suitable monument to her memory and about this time I decided that a hospital in remembrance would be what she would have chosen,” Hawkins wrote.
More than 100 years later, a more modern Hazel Hawkins Hospital stands in another location with a new Women’s Wing, an emergency room and plans for a diabetes center. Eggers said his great-great grandfather Hawkins would be amazed and pleased to see his dream still serving the community.
It was fitting for the audience to hear from Eggers about Hazel’s “beautiful and unselfish life” and her grandfather’s donation of an entire hospital. The Auxiliary volunteers spend hundreds of hours every year to help keep Hazel Hawkins Hospital profitable and offer a good experience for patients.
The Spring Auxiliary Luncheon is an annual celebration for all behind-the-scenes volunteers who work to improve the hospital patient experience and support the hospital in other ways. The tables at San Juan Oaks were filled primarily with women as well as a sprinkling of men. Lois Itow, with the Auxiliary, explained that many of the guests may have met working as volunteers, but rarely have time to socialize.
Itow described the Auxiliary as both “free-flowing and well-organized.” Itow said,“Everyone is sensitive to each other’s needs. We have older parents, we have children in our own lives, but we fill in for each other when things happen.” She said that with time, volunteers find their niche in the hospital and everyone is dedicated to making sure the Auxiliary is going to work. She credited Alice Oliveira for doing an outstanding job of managing so many volunteers. There are currently about 155 adult and 28 youth volunteers working in the Volunteer Services Program. The services include the hospital and several other ventures including Madelyn Gift Shop and Hazel’s Thrift Shop and Treasures. There are also two major events annually, Winter Magic Bazaar and Spring Auxiliary Luncheon.
Hospital Board President Gordon Machado mentioned that he had been born in the original Hazel Hawkins Hospital donated by T.S. Hawkins. He credited the luncheon guests for having “given an unmentionable amount of hours” and that all he could say was, “Thank you, thank you.”
Ken Underwood, CEO of the hospital, also spoke to the group. “I just want to take a moment and recognize your service. You provide a warm experience for our patients and you are a key factor in the healing process,” he said.
Eggers was a refreshing addition to the annual event. Like his great-great grandfather, Dave Eggers is also known for frequent philanthropic efforts, particularly with youth and education. He thanked the Auxiliary members for their dedication to the hospital and told them that it was gratifying “to see all of you doing this and carrying it on so well.”