Spotlight on Our Caregivers-Karey

Posted on: 2016 11 10

In conjunction with National Family Caregiver Month, Armistead Senior Care would like to shine a spotlight on our incredible Caregivers who give their hearts and souls to our clients each and every day. Many started out by being a family caregiver and now they are out in the community making a difference by sharing their compassion and skills in caring for our clients and allowing them to age in place.   Karey has been with Armistead Senior Care for seven years and has been a Caregiver for nine. She enjoys getting to meet different people and getting to know them. Karey likes to be out and about, traveling to client’s homes and bringing them places. She really enjoys the connections that she makes with her clients. She considers the flexible schedule a bonus. Important qualities of a Caregiver according to Karey are kindness, respectfulness, and compassion. She works hard to portray these qualities while working, being mindful of treating others the way she would want to be treated if she were in their position. Karey grew up on a dairy farm in Craftsbury, Vermont, the youngest of five. She went on to study Elementary Education at the University of Vermont and then Lyndon State and ultimately received a Secretarial Specialist degree from Champlain College. She raised five children and is proud to have home schooled her children, before it was so popular. Her previous careers have included teacher, postal worker, and real estate assistant and agent. She was the administrative assistant to the Executive Director of the Vermont Mozart Festival for over six years-she enjoyed many wonderful concerts! Karey has been a Mary Kay consultant for 20 years; she attends Mary Kay New England Career Conferences and the Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas, Texas. Karey’s mom had a gift shop and it was here that Karey acquired a love for quilts. She took a class and made her first quilt in 1986 and hasn’t stopped since. She is a member (and former President) of the Champlain Valley Quilting Guild. Karey and the Guild often do special quilt projects such as “Community Quilts” which are donated to agencies such as our local Ronald McDonald House, Lund Family Center, Hope Lodge and more. They have also donated to the Quilts of Valor Foundation whose mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.   The Guild also creates and donates quilts for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia's. These are referred to as activity, fidget, sensory or lap quilts. Karey generously brings them in so we can offer them to Armistead clients. The Guild also takes bus trips together that involve quilting; they have traveled to Gettysburg, PA, Paducah, KY (home of the National Quilt Museum, the largest quilt and fiber art museum in the world) and Lancaster County, PA to name a few of their destinations.           One of Karey’s most treasured creations was a lovely partnership. Her mom was more of a seamstress who also did applique. When her mom passed away, Karey found stacks of appliqued butterfly squares which were made out of scraps from flour and sugar sacks. Karey turned her mom’s squares into a quilt for herself and made one for her sister too.   Karey was our Vermont October GEM award winner. We are grateful for Karey’s dedication and skill as an Armistead Caregiver. Thank you Karey!