The Violet E. Carlson Memorial Guild Honors a Legacy of Gratitude and Family

In 2022, the Violet E. Carlson Memorial Guild celebrated 10 years of holiday fundraising with their Table Top Christmas sale benefiting St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale.

This year’s event featured handmade quilts, miniature tabletop trees and antiques donated by craftspeople and artists from around the community. Throughout the one-day event, the guild raised an impressive $5,000, supporting St. Michael’s pediatric rehabilitation program which helps kids get back to being active and doing daily activities after illnesses and injuries.

For more than 35 years, the Carlson family of Kitsap County has felt a deep connection to St. Michael Medical Center and sincere gratitude for the decades of care they have received.

Their medical journey began in 1986 when Bob Carlson suffered a debilitating illness that required years of carefully coordinated inpatient and home care support. Grateful for the years of compassion and expertise, Bob’s wife Violet, daughters and other family members became active in the St. Michael Medical Center Foundation’s (formerly Harrison Foundation) Festival of Trees.

“Our dad wasn’t a joiner, but he continuously used his talents to help his friends and family. Our mom was an active person “worker bee” in the community, and with the organizations she joined. We continue that legacy of caring with the Violet E. Carlson Memorial Guild,” sisters Donna Carlson Overly and Sandy Carlson said.

After Violet passed away in November 2001 and the Festival of Trees ended in 2011, Violet and Bob’s two daughters, Donna Overly and Sandy Carlson, along with their friends started the Violet E. Carlson Memorial Guild in 2012 as a way to honor their mother and continue her legacy of volunteering.

“Our guild members often designate proceeds from the Table Top Christmas sale to an area of care that serves infants and children. We feel the youngest in our community deserve acknowledgment and support,” Donna and Sandy said.

Altogether, the Violet E. Carlson Guild has raised over $80,000 for St. Michael’s clinical and patient support programs.

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