Orthopaedic Institute for ChOrthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) recognized members of the La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild (LCFOG) at a recent luncheon for donating many hours of volunteer services. During the year, LCFOG members have helped out in different capacities, sorting and selling items at the It’s A Bargain Thrift Shop, lending a hand at the summer sports day and at Christmas parties on the downtown campus, donating toys for the annual trip to Calexico and baking cookies for the OIC staff.

LCFOG is one of five guilds parented by Charitable Children’s Guild (CCG), each of which raises funds that allows OIC to provide needed orthopaedic care to children everywhere. No child is ever turned away for financial reasons and it has been that way for 107 years when Dr. Charles LeRoy Lowman operated his clinic for crippled children at the University of Southern California’s Graves Memorial Clinic. It was at this time, in 1911, that a group of women from the First Congregational Church Emmanuel Class formed a guild to assist Dr. Lowman in his clinic. As the number of patients increased, Dr. Lowman would move to a larger building and the Guild followed. By 1926, fundraising was in full gear and Memorial Building was erected in 1928 to accommodate children in need of orthopaedic care.

In 1956, auxiliaries were formed in outlying communities – Los Amigas De Las Lomas, Las Madrecitas, and LCFOG. Las Ninas de Las Madrecitas was formed in 1965 and Las Vecinas in 1966. In 2002, a $2,000,000 endowment pledge for the Charity Care Program for Children was made by CCG and it’s auxiliaries. That pledge was completed in September 2004.

The following year, $50,000 was donated toward the Everychild foundation Universally Accessible Playground at OIC. Since June 2009, Crippled Children’s Guild has been doing business as Charitable Children’s Guild, supporting OIC, formerly known and Orthopaedic Hospital.

Attending the meeting and luncheon from LCFOG were Alicia Thompson, Barbara Self and Caryl Pettit. Caryl was recognized for 3,500 volunteer hours and Carolyn Geer for 100 hours this past year. At least two-dozen youth volunteers from the community who volunteered 100 hours each were recognized for their service also.

LCFOG is open to any woman in the community who is interested in making a difference in the life of a child. Together, we meet, we plan and we make a difference. LCFOG meets on the first Thursday of the month, September through June, at the homes of its members. Please contact membership chair Jeanne Long at (818) 640-9106 for an invitation to the next meeting.