Bob Crego, Barbara McCarty and Lawrin Crispe

STRATTON FOUNDATION—This past spring, Barbara McCarty of The Stratton Foundation presented a donation in the amount of $1,000 to Lawrin Crispe, Chairman of the Board of the Otis Health Care Center. The donation was used to help fund the purchase of an IV pump; the successful grant application was written by Grace Cottage’s grantwriter, Bob Crego.

YEAR-END GIFT IDEAS

Cash, Check, Credit Card Gifts: Excluding bequests, over 55% of all charitable contributions that Grace Cottage receives annually arrive during the months of November and December. Making charitable gifts now can make a difference when it comes time for you to pay the IRS on April 15, 2004. For example, if you itemize your deductions and you are in a 33% income tax bracket, a gift of $1,000 to Grace Cottage during this calendar year can save you $330 in Federal income taxes for 2003.

According to IRS regulations, when you make an end-of-year cash gift to Grace Cottage, your envelope must be postmarked by December 31; if it is, your gift will qualify as a calendar-year 2003 gift, even if it is not received by Grace Cottage Foundation until the first week of 2004. Many Grace Cottage supporters find it easier to call the Foundation office (802-365-9109) with their MasterCard or VISA number, and donations are processed the same day they are called in, unless the contributor requests otherwise.

Real Estate Gifts—Has your primary residence or vacation home appreciated so much in value since your purchase that you would have to pay a huge capital gains tax if you were to sell it? By making a gift of real estate to Grace Cottage, you would avoid the capital gains tax and receive a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the home. A lifetime tenancy arrangement would enable you and your spouse to live in the home for the remainder of your lives, after which the property would be used or sold by Grace Cottage. Call Grace Cottage Foundation at (802) 365-9109 or e-mail gcfound@sover.net.

And another patient, down the hall: “Grace Cottage is like Utopia. All the nurses are the gentlest and most considerate people I’ve ever met. Every time they come into my room, they have a smile. And the cleaning people — they’re all lovely!” Alice MacMenamin, Brattleboro

WOOD’S TEA COMPANY CONCERT

Despite sprinkles (OK, showers, really) toward the end of the concert, over 300 devoted fans of Wood’s Tea Company stayed on the Townshend Common on Saturday, August 9th until after the rousing encore. Held annually in celebration of the hospital and in memory of Grace Cottage supporter Jack Benson, the concert is funded by Jack’s wife, Shirley. The free concert will be held next year on August 14 (the weekend after Fair Day).

A letter from a grateful relative, who was on the ambulance and in the ER with her husband, who had suffered heat stroke at the Wardsboro 4th of July Parade: “Thank you, everyone, for making a very frightening episode less so, through your concern and caring. You are the best!” Mary Ann Byron, Wardsboro