SUNSHINE CIRCLE

SUNSHINE CIRCLE. Service organization of FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE). Founded in 1889, a year before the hospital was established, Sunshine Circle was originally called the “King's Daughters." Organized to raise funds for needy charities and the hospital, the society consisted of three circles. The Children's Circle, emphasizing the maintenance of a pediatric ward, was the predecessor of the modern Sunshine Circle.

Fund-raising began on October 10, 1890, when a fair was conducted. By raising fifty-four dollars, two rooms of the hospital were furnished. In 1921 under the leadership of Mrs. William Kretschmer, the work of the circle included the care, maintenance, and equipment of a special department for children. Particular attention was given to the amusement and entertainment of the young patients. The circle also maintained a free clinic for children whose parents could not afford to provide medical or surgical assistance. (1)

Over the years, fund-raising activities have included charity balls, teas and musicals. The Circle has sponsored prenatal classes, free children's clinics, and maintained the Sunshine room in Finley's Pediatric Department. Members of the Circle volunteered for duty each day during WORLD WAR II due to a shortage of nurses. In 1989 the sixty-five adult members volunteered over thirteen thousand hours to the hospital.

In 1990 commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of its first fund-raising activity, the Circle issued a centennial cookbook entitled Seasons of Sunshine.

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Source:

1. "Open House at Finley Hospital Today," Telegraph Herald, May 15, 1921, p. 15