Inaugural MeetingThe Women's Auxiliary of The Hospital for Sick Children (WAV)
Dr. Andrew Chute, Professor of Paediatrics and Physician in Chief at the Hospital for Sick Children challenged his spouse, Dr. Helen (Reid) Chute to organize a women's group to secure funding for a medical library. 
Dr. Helen (Reid) Chute
Dr. Helen (Reid) Chute was a respected author and pioneer in the field of biomedical communications Her obituary beautifully captured her legacy: "Helen's many achievements were only eclipsed by the warmth and generosity of her heart". |
Annual Holiday Sales and Auctions
In November 1950, the Women’s Auxiliary held its first bazaar at Casa Loma and raised $5,000, of which $2,000 was given to establish a new medical library at the hospital. The 88 charter members who participated in this inaugural event created most of the beautiful hand-crafted Christmas items and staffed Toronto’s new and exciting event. The tradition of holding an annual holiday sale continued throughout the years, ending only when the hospital instigated new infection control precautions.
The first silent auction, with limited offerings, soon expanded to include approximately 200 items, most of which were donated by friends, families, and businesses. These annual events brought most WAV members together to participate in creating, cataloging, displaying, and staffing. After several years in hiatus due to pandemic limits, WAV adapted to the new hospital restrictions for gatherings, and a successful online auction was held in 2025.
Five Chairs, One Mission
When The Hospital for Sick Children launched its program to establish research chairs in 1995, the Women’s Auxiliary was honoured to be invited to consider funding the very first endowed chair at SickKids. We proudly accepted - since then, the Women’s Auxiliary has gone on to fund five endowed chairs, making us one of the Hospital’s most dedicated and impactful philanthropic partners. We are also the only volunteer women’s organization, and the only SickKids donor overall, to fund five research chairs.
Made possible through donor generosity and managed by the Foundation, endowed chairs provide permanent, sustainable support for research and clinical innovation.
Currently, Women’s Auxiliary five Chairs are in Neonatology, Haematology/Oncology, Urology and Regenerative Medicine, Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, and Image‑Guided Care.