What is a better way to spend your weekend afternoons than to walk around beautiful gardens and fountains, observing gorgeous works of art? What better place to donate money to than the Children’s Hospital? Last weekend, Allied Arts Guild made it easy for people in the community to do the two at once.

Over the past weekend, the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park held a Boutique Fundraiser entitled, "Giving Thanks for the Children", in which they sold cute knick-knacks and apparel to raise money for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

Women from the bay area community organized a volunteer group called the Auxiliary, through which women can donate their time and effort towards helping the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. There are five Auxiliary groups in the area, two of which (Palo Alto Auxiliary and Menlo Atherton Auxiliary) own and manage the Allied Arts Guild.

The main purpose of the Guild is to raise money for the Children’s Hospital. The money from all the events that occur at the Guild contributes toward a total pool that goes to the Children’s Hospital, this includes weddings, seminars, art shows, etc.

This weekend, there were three different events going on at the Guild. Among the Fundraiser for the Hospital, there was also a Holiday Boutique and a Twin Concepts sale. The Holiday Boutique sold ornaments and decorations for the upcoming holiday season. Twin Concepts is a sister-owned business that has moved locations recently in the Menlo Park area.

"As much profit as possible goes to the Hospital," said Elaine Scotten and Lucile DeDera, volunteers in the Menlo Atherton Auxiliary.

The artists who have shops in the Guild and sell their works must give a certain percent of their profits to the children’s hospital. Events that take place at the Art Guild must pay a certain percent of their bill to the hospital as well, according to DeDera and Scotten.

The Auxiliary is a non-profit organization. Other portions of the money raised by the Auxiliary go toward expenses or maintenance of the Guild. The Auxiliary has raised close to a million dollars this year for the hospital. The Guild was recently re-opened after a remodeling and repairing the building. Right now the Guild is financially well-off, but hopes to get more donations as it gains more recognition in the next years, according to DeDera.

Recently, the Auxiliary has been trying to incorporate men into their organization. Though, it has been all women since it was formed in 1932, many men and children will come to the Guild and volunteer with "Friends of Allied Arts", according to Scotten and DeDera.

The Guild also has a featured artist of the month. This month’s artist is Julia Munger Seelos, who grew up coming to the Guild.

"I love the Guild, it’s great for the community," Seelos said.

"[The Guild] has been around longer than the neighborhood," DeDera said. "It’s a treasure to the community."