By Carolyn Lorie
(Excerpts from an article in the Brattleboro Reformer which appeared on April 20, 2005.)

At the age of 84, Ruth Lamprey has earned the right to stay home every day, reading, napping, watching television and being accountable to no one.

But she doesn’t.

Instead every Friday, she gets a ride from her Newfane home to Grace Cottage Hospital and spends several hours volunteering in the purchasing department.

Lamprey is one of millions of Americans who gives her time to an organization for no other reason than her faith in its mission and the generosity of her spirit.

“The volunteers are the heart and soul of Grace Cottage Hospital,” said Mary Gyori, director of development at Grace Cottage Foundation. “As the smallest hospital in Vermont, we couldn’t do all we do without them.”

“[Ruth] is a lot of fun. She’s sort of an object lesson on aging gracefully,” explained Patrick Lapan, director of purchasing at the hospital.

Stephen McConnel of Townshend has to drive into Brattleboro every Tuesday to tend to personal matters. Before every trip, he stops at Grace Cottage Hospital, picks up anything that has to go to the laboratory at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and delivers it on his way in. He returns a couple of hours later with items being sent back. Like many volunteers, McConnel takes his work as a courier seriously. “We do it in the rain, hail and snow,” he said.

Since the hospital was founded...volunteers have been an integral part of its operation, said McConnel, whose family was instrumental in financing the institution. According to Gyori, approximately 50 people donate their time to Grace Cottage on a weekly basis, but hundreds give over the course of the year.

For Lamprey, not only does her weekly contribution help out an organization she loves, but there are perks for her in return. “I meet great folks at the hospital and that staff up there -- they treat me like a queen,” she said.