From Nursing to Volunteering in Renton

Someone once said that nurses don’t wait until October to celebrate, “Make a Difference Day.”

They make a difference every day.  When a nurse decides on their career, they make a conscious decision to spend their lives helping other. 

Pat Auten grew up in Pekin, Ill., and knew from the age of 4 that one day she would become a nurse.  In fact, she went right from high school into the nursing program at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria. 

“I was a nurse back when we actually washed and rubbed people’s backs,” she remembers.

During Auten’s 17-year nursing career, she worked with all sorts of patients; orthopedic, cardiac care, even premature babies. 

“My favorite thing about nursing,” says Auten, “was when I could actually make someone feel better.”

So, how did Auten add volunteering to her busy schedule?   

“When we moved to El Paso, Texas, my husband’s boss thought wives should be active in the community,” she smirks.  “So, I joined the El Paso Young Matron’s Society.”

For the first two years, Auten volunteered as Chaplain, but then helped to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club.  When Auten’s daughter was in third grade, they moved to Renton.  Auten left nursing behind to spend more time with her daughter, accepting a 30 hour-a-week job as Volunteer Coordinator with the .

“I could be home for afternoon tea parties,” she remembers fondly.

As Volunteer Coordinator for the school district, Auten recruited and scheduled tutors for the classrooms.  One tutor, named Larry, was so popular with students that he would get a half a penny in his box every week as a reward.  

“The teachers would actually cut a penny in half,” she smiles.  “Then, one year, they gave him a raise and he got a whole penny.”

It was no surprise when Auten was recruited to help establish a new affiliate program, .  She joined the board in 1994 and even helped to write the mentoring program with then Executive Director, Susan Richards.  Although Auten no longer serves on the board, she remains an active board member emeritus.

”I’ve always been interested in anything that helps children,” she says.

When she retired from the school district in 2006, Auten was profiled in the King County Journal, and rewarded with an unusual honor as a result.  A man named Walter Cook read the article and created a fund within the in honor of his friend, O.J. Harper, naming Auten as the donor advisor.  Harper owns Harper Engineering and also added money to the fund.  Today, Auten directs grants from the O.J. Harper Engineering Children’s Needs Fund to the for a variety of educational supplies and to the Renton Kiwanis Clothes Bank to buy socks and underwear for low-income children.

But Auten’s gifts to the community don’t stop there.  She sits on the board of the Renton Clothes Bank and has served twice as President of Kiwanis.  She has helped register art for the Renton Annual Art Show, even donating her exquisite “counted” cross stitch.  She served four years as President of the Renton Historical Society, and today volunteers her time in the office at the .

For Auten, helping people is second nature.  But training mentors for is what she’s most proud of.

“I have met people who thought they were going to help a child by becoming a mentor,” she says, “only to find out they were the ones who got helped.  I just love Renton.”