|  Testimonials
About Giving
First Memories Spark
Lifelong Dedication to Giving Back
Living behind glass in a room at Brattleboro Memorial
Hospital, with nurses bringing her ice cream and doing
her hair, is one of the first memories Heidi Kendrick
has of her childhood. Heidi was diagnosed with polio
at the age of seven and says she can still remember
it like it was yesterday.
"I remember going to Dr. Doyle in Hinsdale and
him tapping my knees. I remember him telling my parents
to take me directly to BMH and the look of fear in
my parents faces without understanding it all. At
the hospital there were other kids from area towns
who had contracted polio that year."
Heidi, one of six children, remembers how the individual
care at BMH felt.
"I don't think I'd ever had that much attention
before. The nurses just doted on me. Aside from being
put into isolation, I remember thinking the whole
thing wasn't that bad,"
Heidi can't count the number of times she and her
family members have been to BMH since. As the mother
to four children, three born at BMH, Heidi has had several
surgeries and procedures at BMH, and has also utilized
the hospital's emergency room.
"I have gone from seeing the oldest technology
the hospital had to offer to the newest technology.
I recently had injections for my back, done through
the hospital's new CAT scan guided procedure. It was
just amazing."
Now a grandmother, with all of her children in their
30s, Heidi felt it was time to give back to a place
that has done so much for her and her family. Heidi,
who hails from corporate America as a Sales and Marketing
Director, recently began volunteering her skills on
behalf of BMH. She has taken on a number of challenges
including securing sponsorships for the Annual Clambake
& Auction, making calls for the “Building on Excellence”
capital campaign, and letter signings for the Annual
Fund. Most recently she joined the Development Committee.
"My first memories were of those nurses and
how great they were to me," she said. "I wanted to
find a way to give back."
A Marlboro, VT, resident, Heidi said she and her husband,
Bob, have also recently made two gifts to the capital
campaign for BMH in order to support its work. One of
those gifts was made in memory of her mother, L. Beryl
Kendrick, who was well known in the community and passed
away ten years ago.
"Because we've been there (BMH) so many times,
we were aware of the space and access issues and wanted
to make a gift as a tribute to the professional staff
at the hospital."
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