Carolyn Devine Saint started helping to advance and share the Red Cross mission as a young girl working as a Candy Striper. Fast forward to today and she has continued to support her local chapter in Central Virginia as Chair of the chapter board and became a proud Legacy Society member.
Thinking back to a snowy day years ago, Carolyn remembered walking to Abington Memorial Hospital when the roads were almost impassable, knowing that she would be needed with many unable to get through the snow. Her grandmother was also a hospital volunteer as a Red Cross Gray Lady, under her guidance Carolyn learned as a child the importance of volunteering from her example. During World War I, World War II and the Korean War, Red Cross Gray Ladies wrote letters and read to wounded soldiers and helped them get involved in crafts and other activities. The Gray Ladies did much to ease the loneliness and boredom of long hospital stays, playing a vital role in our history.
As she had always admired the work of the Red Cross, she found herself immersed in the mission once again in Central Virginia. It was a meeting with her friend, Bill Brent, Executive Director of Central Virginia Chapter, at a Regional Chamber of Commerce meeting that spurred her to join as a member of the chapter board. She has now been a member of the board for seven years and chaired the board for four of those years.
Leaving a gift in your will is one of the simplest ways to donate to a charity that has been important in your life. Carolyn has chosen to leave a bequest to the Red Cross in her will and hopes others will choose to do the same. “As my connection to the Red Cross deepens and endures, it made sense and feels right to include a gift in my estate plan. This way my heirs will understand my wishes and perhaps they’ll feel compelled to continue to support the Red Cross in my honor,” she explained.
“The Red Cross has many needs; I hope the gift supports whichever need is greatest when the time comes. I don’t think of the benefit we’ll receive but instead feel satisfied to know we’ll be doing our part to keep the mission alive.”