Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Port Hardy Hospital Auxiliary Society (PHHAS)

The Port Hardy Hospital Auxiliary Society is a long‑standing volunteer organization based in Port Hardy, British Columbia, dedicated to supporting health and wellness in North Island communities. Since 1963, the Auxiliary reports having donated more than $2.5 million to local health services. Funds are primarily raised through the operation of a community thrift store and other fundraising activities, then redistributed to strengthen regional health infrastructure and services.

The Society provides financial support for hospital and clinic equipment in Port Hardy and Port McNeill, emergency and ambulance services, fire and rescue training, and related community care facilities such as Eagle Ridge Manor. Over the years it has funded items such as bladder scanners, fetal heart monitors, ultrasound machines, defibrillators, birthing beds, and other specialized equipment identified as needs by local providers.

The Auxiliary focuses on improving access to health care for residents across the North Island by channeling proceeds from its thrift store into concrete purchases and donations. Beneficiaries have included Port Hardy Hospital, Port McNeill Hospital, BC Ambulance, local fire departments, care homes, and provincial children’s health institutions such as BC Children’s Hospital and Jeneece Place.

In addition to equipment and facility support, the Society provides scholarships and awards to local high school graduates, with more than $150,000 in scholarships reported as awarded. These scholarships help students pursuing post‑secondary education, particularly in fields connected to health and community service.

The Auxiliary traces its origins to 1962, when local women organized to improve access to doctors and health care in Port Hardy. Early efforts included helping to establish an emergency clinic, subsidizing physicians’ salaries, and fundraising for a hospital. Over subsequent decades, the group helped equip successive hospital facilities, contributed to clinic construction, and continuously reinvested community donations into local health services.

Today, the Port Hardy Hospital Auxiliary Society continues this mission with a membership of dozens of volunteers who sort, clean, price and sell donated goods. Revenues generated are returned to the community in the form of financial contributions, equipment purchases, and scholarships, maintaining the Auxiliary’s role as an important grassroots funding partner in the regional health ecosystem.