St. Luke’s Carbon Auxiliary continues to give back to the community.

The group presented a $35,000 donation to St. Luke’s Hospital, Carbon Campus, at its annual dinner meeting held Monday at the Palmerton Pub.

Jenny Serfass, president of the St. Luke’s Carbon Auxiliary, explained that each year they give a gift to St. Luke’s Hospital at their annual dinner meeting.

Serfass said this year’s gift was in the amount of $35,000, and noted it will go toward the construction of a walking path behind the St. Luke’s Hospital Carbon Campus in Franklin Township.

She said each year they let John Nespoli, president of St. Luke’s Carbon, decide how the auxiliary’s gift will be spent, the only constraint being that the money is used for the benefit of either of the local campuses.

Serfass added that the auxiliary likes for the funds to benefit the residents of Carbon County.

“Historically, the money has been spent on traditional medical equipment, but this year St. Luke’s decided to spend the funds on a walking path behind the Carbon Campus,” she said. “This will allow the employees and anyone visiting the hospital to get some fresh air and exercise in a scenic and peaceful area.”

Nespoli said the walking path would be about 2 miles long, and added the hospital was grateful to the auxiliary for all its hard work.

“Great people,” Nespoli said. “It’s another group that are so connected in the community.”

Nespoli noted that last year the auxiliary presented St. Luke’s with a check, also in the amount of $35,000, to buy a vein ablation laser for the hospital used in interventional radiology to redirect blood flow.

Serfass said the gift is the culmination of the wide variety of fundraisers the auxiliary holds throughout the year.

She said those include the strawberry shortcake stand at the Palmerton Community Festival; lottery calendar sale; the sale of Bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes in conjunction with the auxiliary’s plant sale; nut roll sales; the sale of mums in the fall; and the prom dress sale at the Nearly New Shop.

Serfass said the auxiliary’s biggest source of funds comes from the Nearly New Shop on Delaware Avenue in Palmerton, as it continues to be a steady stream of income for the auxiliary throughout the year.

She said Stephanie Saas (the manager) and Susie Muffley (who is in charge of scheduling the 38 volunteers who work in the shop) put in countless hours to make sure everything runs smoothly in the shop.

Serfass added that the Monday morning crew also works tirelessly to sort through all of the donations and get them nicely arranged in the store and in the window.

In the last few years, she said, they started having a sale of prom dresses for $10 each in the late winter/early spring.

Serfass said the auxiliary has about 235 members, and is always in search of new ones.