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A Guild-ed History
Children’s Hospital Guild Association is one of Seattle’s oldest volunteer organizations, and it is only getting better at helping sick children.
By Nancy Schatz Alton

The often repeated Margaret Mead quote about how a small group of dedicated people can change the world rings true at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. This institution was started by its first guild. In 1907, Anna Clise’s five-year-old son died of inflammatory rheumatism. Clise asked 23 friends to donate $20 each to help start a hospital for children, with the hope of sparing other families the grief she had experienced. The first rendition of this now famous medical facility opened a year later, thanks to the guild.

Since then, the Children’s Hospital Guild Association has grown to include 529 guilds with nearly 8,000 members. Most of the funds from the guilds help pay for uncompensated care. In 2003, the Guild Association spent $35 million on this part of its mission; every year, the guilds contribute nearly $7 million.

Guilds are formed for many reasons, from a group of knitters looking for a cause to a hospital intern who wants to make a difference. The most common inspiration, though, is a sick child. When Jana Dukelow’s preschool-age daughter was being treated for a brain tumor, she knew she would give back to CHRMC some day. Three years after her daughter died, family friends approached her with the concept for the Jordyn Dukelow Memorial Guild. “They all knew Jordyn. She was just one of those little spirits. Once you met her you never forgot her,” says Dukelow. “They wanted to do something to carry on her name and her memory.”

The guild’s first fundraiser capitalized on an event that already occurred every year: a summer golf weekend. They added a fall event:, a silent auction with a chili cook-off theme. In 1999, they raised $9,000; in 2004, the group grossed $102,000. Dukelow says starting the guild was easy, with assistance from the Guild Association’s eight-person office. Indeed, a group seeking to form a guild completes an application and each member contributes a $20 annual fee. The application is then sent through the Guild Association’s board review process. (Most guilds are approved.) Dukelow’s group has attended association workshops where the ABC’s of fundraising are taught. The office supports each of its events, from offering tax advice to loaning credit card machines.

The gargantuan jump in the amount of funds the group has raised is partly due to experience. Honing several events into one successful moneymaker has made a key difference: Now they have a yearly “Cruise for a Cure” auction at the Seattle Design Center. Speakers include a sick child and Dr. James Olson, who treated Jordyn. “You can hear a pin drop when he speaks. He speaks in layman’s terms,” says Dukelow. “And the child speaker really brings it home, seeing someone going through this, it grabs hearts.”

Although most guilds’ dollars go to uncompensated care, money from the Jordyn Dukelow Memorial Guild supports Dr. Olson’s work. Some groups donate their earnings to specific programs and departments at CHRMC. Jill Herczog is a co-founder of a special interest guild, the Mitochondrial Research Guild. Her oldest daughter suffers from mitochondrial disease, a rare condition that can lead to seizures, heart problems and even death.. “These are the cards you’re dealt, you have to make something positive,” Herczog says.

Recent proceeds from the Mitochondrial Research Guild are being used to purchase equipment that tests children for the disease. These tools provide a less-invasive procedure than the one now available at CHRMC. The Herczogs believe their younger daughter also has this disease and they are waiting to test her with the new equipment.

Herczog says the Mitochondrial Research Guild has been wonderful for her family. “My daughters are really involved in the guild. It’s allowed my daughter to turn this into something positive. My oldest daughter writes speeches and both girls speak at [the yearly auctions],” she says. “I have a lot of new friends as a result of the guild. We have three generations of people working toward a common goal. It’s extremely rewarding.”

Every time Herczog’s daughters go to the hospital for a check-up, she sees the positive effects of her guild in their well-being. “I want to do everything I can to make sure other kids have that same kind of medical care,” she says.

For more information about how to start or join a guild, please contact CHRMC’s Guild Association at 206-987-2153, via email, askus@seattlechildrens.org, or on the Web at www.seattlechildrens.org

©2005 Caliope Publishing Company