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April is National Volunteer Month-Spotlight on Collie

Posted on: 2016 04 28

Collie's Flowers

This delightful surprise of a bouquet was hand delivered to the Vermont office by Collie Chambers, another exceptional Armistead Caregiver. As we thanked her and oohhed and aahhed over the beautiful bouquet, Collie told us of her latest volunteer effort: Vermont Recycles Flowers, which is a goodwill branch of Chappell’s Florist of South Burlington. Diane, co-owner of Chappell’s, had the wonderful idea of creating new, fresh flower bouquets from “recycled” flowers, that had been left over and then generously donated from events, functions, and retail stores. The “recycled” flowers are brought to Chappell’s cooler from which their floral designers along with volunteers create lovely new bouquets which are then delivered and donated to local nursing homes, assisted living facilities, schools, churches, hospitals, and other local agencies and non-profit organizations. Vermont Recycles Flowers is always looking for donations of vases that you may have but are not using, so that they can have enough to fill with their beautiful bouquets. They can be dropped off at Chappell's Florist on Williston Road. Collie has always had a large garden and she often brought her own flowers to her clients. When she learned of Vermont Recycles Flowers, it seemed like a great fit. Collie really enjoys flower arranging and working alongside other volunteers to create new arrangements to distribute around Chittenden County. Originally from Connecticut, Collie has a degree in Psychology from UConn. She had a long career in the printing business beginning at the Harvard Printing Office, where she learned all aspects of the business in order to service their customers. Needing to get out of the city, Collie and some friends headed west and landed in Aspen, Colorado where they enjoyed a wonderful winter skiing and working. When she came back east to Connecticut, she became a production manager for several magazines and then went onto Danbury Printing. Wanting to get out of the city again, she found a job at Lane Press in Burlington and moved to Vermont. Collie had a 26 year career at Lane Press, retiring in 2006. In addition to volunteering at Vermont Recycles Flowers, Collie has been the leader of her neighborhood watch for 17 years, organizing their block party every year. Every pet Collie has had was a rescue; she currently has a beautiful older cat and an energetic young dog. She is a regular Red Cross blood donor with lifetime total of over 100 pints! This October Collie will celebrate her tenth anniversary with Armistead Senior Care and we are very lucky to have her. She really enjoys being with her clients, providing meaningful companionship and assistance. Collie also says it is a great retirement job, with lots of flexibility and which fits her active lifestyle. Thank you for ALL that you do, Collie, we truly appreciate you!

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