Selfless contribution
San Marino senior reaches out to children
By Kevin Felt, Staff Writer
PASADENA -- Margie McNeish says she was a little bit selfish when she donated several thousand dollars to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old San Marino resident wanted to see the money being put to work during her lifetime.

As representatives from the Green House, a volunteer-run boutique on Arcade Lane in Pasadena, gave $20,000 to support medical research at the hospital, McNeish added several thousand more.

Among the decorative glassware and porcelain, members of the hospital's Pasadena auxiliary group applauded McNeish, a 20- year Green House volunteer, for her generosity.

"We're thrilled to pieces about (the donation), particularly because it came from someone who is a long-time supporter of Childrens Hospital through the Green House and who cares so much about its wonderful legacy for children,' said Bonnie McClure, chairman of Childrens Hospital's Associates and Affiliates group and a member of the hospital's board of trustees.

"Lovely, quiet people throughout the community often are our best supporters,' McClure said. "That's exactly what she is.'

McNeish said one of the reasons she joined the group in 1980 was because she has a vested interest in helping children with diseases and disabilities one of her sons had a birth injury and her grandson is "slightly autistic.'

"I just wanted to be with a group that is doing something rather than just socializing,' she said. "We're here to work. That's what I wanted when I joined and that's why I'm still hanging on.'

McNeish, who asked that her donation be used specifically for medical research on autism, said, "Most people wait until after they've passed away. I said I want to do it while I'm still here because it makes me feel good to be able to do this.'

Kevin Felt can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4482, or by e-mail at kevin.felt@sgvn.com.