Amy White, manager of KeyBank’s Barre Branch, presented the check to HSCVT director Betsy Reid.  “We are very proud to partner with Home Share of Central Vermont,” White said.  Providing resources that HSCVT needs to continue their valuable service “is a wonderful investment in the community.”

Lesli Blount, director of Community Relations for KeyBank, echoed White’s sentiments.  “We are proud to be part of HSCVT’s efforts to enable elderly and disabled community members the chance to stay in their homes while providing affordable housing for someone in need,” Blount said.

Reid thanked KeyBank and its employees for their very tangible support.  “KeyBank’s generosity is a classic example of Vermonters taking care of each other, which is exactly what home sharing is all about. In a successful home share match, each person helps the other — either by providing housing, or by providing the kind of assistance seniors and the disabled need to remain in their own homes as long as possible. ”

“Just as every participant in a match can take pride in helping the other, so, too, can KeyBank take pride in supporting central Vermont’s only home sharing program,” Reid observed. 

Home Share of Central Vermont is sponsored by the Central Vermont Council on Aging but we must raise all our own funds.

 Rosemary made the early morning trek to Morrisville to extol the benefits of volunteering for HSCVT.  “It’s the most heartwarming thing I’ve ever done as a volunteer,” Rosemary told LaJoie and his listeners.  “It’s been so wonderful, I’ve met so many wonderful people and I’ve learned a lot.  It’s very satisfying and rewarding volunteer work.”

 MaryAnn explained to LaJoie and listeners how the program works.  She also stressed that the program relies on volunteers like Rosemary.

Rosemary had the last word: “It’s a lot of fun.”

This isn’t an easy year to get state funding, but we got a real boost from a very persuasive speaker: Meg Donahue Davis, a home provider in the Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT) program.  On February 21st, Meg joined HSCVT Director Betsy Reid to testify before the House Appropriations Committee on behalf of both HSCVT and HomeShare Vermont, the Burlington-based program.  According to Betsy, Meg was the real star of the morning and wowed the representatives with her forthright manner and candid assessment of her home sharing experience. 

Meg told the Committee, “I cannot emphasize enough the time Home Share of Central Vermont takes to interview, prepare, and match the individuals before we sharers even meet.”  This matters, noted Meg, because “each individual need is unique — each is specific — ranging from personal caregiving to just being available.”   Meg later compared the home share experience to “having my first child.  I was apprehensive.  I didn’t know if I could do the right thing.  But to my great relief it was easy.”  Now, together with her home share partner, “We say thank you Home Share of Central Vermont for rescuing us and for the happiness we have enjoyed knowing each other.”

We say, thank you Meg!  You said it better than we could.

• A four day workshop in Advanced Mediation Training: Elder Mediation in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for Ginny Sassaman, HSCVT communications specialist;
• A two-hour, full staff training with consultant Lisa Bedinger on strategies to help participants cope with finding affordable housing and/or the ability to stay at home; and
• A four day basic mediation training workshop at Woodbury College in Montpelier for HSCVT director Betsy Reid.

“The mediation tools and techniques I learned were invaluable in helping me guide our program participants as they build successful relationships under challenging circumstances,” Reid told the Foundation. “I applaud you for understanding that learning enriches and enables us to do a better job of serving our communities.”