The little white house next to Mather Hospital has served as the Mather Hospital Thrift Shop for half a century, offering bargains on gently used and new items and raising funds for the hospital.

The shop was opened by the Mather Auxiliary on June 5, 1972. The Clipper, the hospital newsletter at that time, noted in its July 1972 issue: “A little over a month ago, the old nurses’ home on North Country Road just east of the hospital blossomed out in a new pink and white mod décor and began a new life as the Mather Hospital Thrift Shop, managed and operated by the ladies of the Mather Auxiliary.”

Every year, the Auxiliary has presented an annual check to the hospital from its fundraising efforts, of which the Thrift Shop has been the largest contributor. Other sources of funds are the Gift Shop, calendar raffles, fashion show and holiday and spring plant sales. Funds from the Auxiliary have been used to purchase medical equipment, fund hospital expansions and renovations, and support departments.

To mark the anniversary, the Thrift Shop will offer weekly sales with special discounts for employees. Each purchase comes with a raffle ticket for a weekly raffle drawing for a $10 gift card.