After 55 Years, Childerguild is the Gift that Keeps Giving for Lynda McShane

Lynda McShane remembers when her Mom, Leona Barber, brought her to the old Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet to help work the Gift Shop run by the Childerguild. 

“I loved going to the hospital, seeing all the people,” said McShane. “In my early grade school years, the man who ran the elevator used to give me rides, and one time he took me to see the babies. That was so much fun — I was a Silver Cross baby!” 

Not only did McShane decide to begin volunteering with Childerguild when she turned 21, she hasn’t stopped for 55 years. 

“I got to work with Mom, see all the visitors and employees. It just seemed like the thing to do. I’ve always admired medical professionals,” said McShane. 

The longest continually serving Childerguild volunteer, McShane, now 76, continued while raising a family in Joliet and working in the banking industry for 32 years.  

That banking experience and her organizational skills come in handy now as Treasurer of the Childerguild Gift Shop, located in the lobby of the new Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. 

What is Childerguild?

Childerguild was founded in 1910 by 13 childless women whose mission was to support the Women’s and Children’s Services at Silver Cross Hospital. Since those early years, many Childerguild women have contributed their time and talents donating almost $6 million to support the hospital. 

In 2022, Silver Cross opened Will County’s first and only Level III Neonatal Intense Care Unit.  Childerguild was a large monetary contributor to this venture. 

Last month, Childerguild presented to the hospital a check for $350,000, profits from their Annual Ball and from the Gift Shop. The donation will be used toward buying an EEG machine for the NICU, two Birthing Beds, two Neonate Cribs for Pediatrics and a Central Monitoring unit for Pediatrics. 

The Gift Shop, not to be confused with Silver Cross’ Encore Thrift Shop, offers a wide range of items for patients, visitors and staff, including balloons, gift merchandise, beverages, books, candy and snacks, baby items, flowers, greeting cards, handbags, jewelry and toys. 

The Original Childerguild Gift Shop

Before opening the shop in 1950, Childerguild funded its mission through teas, card parties and tag days, said Holly Tomashek, a retired teacher who is the Gift Shop’s toy buyer and marketing guru. 

It also happens her Mom, Helen Canaday, started bringing her to help out with the old Gift Shop about the same time as McShane’s Mom did. She remembers trips to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago to find jewelry for the shop. 

McShane and Tomashek remember when the “Gift Shop” was just two display counters in the lobby of the old hospital. They had to put everything away each day after closing. Ultimately, Childerguild got a permanent spot in the hospital. 

Back in the day, monthly Childerguild lunch meetings were very formal, McShane said, and held in members’ homes. Those lunches still continue but are held in the conference center in the lower level of the hospital.  

While McShane continued with the Gift Shop, Tomashek took a break from volunteering to raise a family and teach, coming back in the early 1990s. Working with McShane in various capacities since has been a treat, she said, especially with McShane overseeing the accounting for the Gift Shop’s 14 departments. 

“She’s delightful,” Tomashek said of McShane. “Very organized. And very forgiving if we’re off a little bit on our receipts.” 

A Family Affair

Thirteen years ago, McShane got a pleasant surprise when one of her daughters, Susan Vari, asked how she could join Childerguild. 

“She said, ‘Can you get me in?’” McShane remembered. “Now, she’s in charge of the beverages and book department for children and adults.” 

Vari remembers going to the shop as a youngster; not with her Mom, but with her Grandmother, just as McShane did. 

“It was the Gift Shop in the old building. It was so much fun. So many memories.” 

Vari said it was a good time to volunteer, with her kids grown up. 

“I get to spend more time with my Mom, and it’s a great way to keep the family tradition going.” 

“Oh, it is,” said Tomashek. “I was working Saturday, and who comes in but Lynda, with her 7-year-old granddaughter who had requested a trip to the Gift Shop!” 

Childerguild is looking for new members. If you are interested, please call the Gift Shop at (815) 300-7472.