Laura McConatha

As a staff member of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCI), on January 28, 2003, I was excited to be invited to a ceremony at Georgia Southwestern State University, where the RCI is located. At the ceremony, former President Jimmy Carter donated $370,000 of his $1 million Nobel Peace Prize award to the institute his wife Rosalynn founded in 1987 to help caregivers and their families.

I was moved to tears witnessing President Carter saying, “Rosalynn and I have been life partners in all our work, and it is appropriate that a portion of the Nobel Peace Prize award go to the Rosalynn Carter Institute. Its mission to support caregivers is important to our nation’s future and accomplishes goals that I noted in my Nobel speech, to ‘cross
boundaries in service and in love to alleviate suffering and promote peace'”.

President Carter always publicly acknowledged his pride at his wife’s accomplishments. The love, respect, and admiration that he and Rosalynn had for each other was priceless to witness in person, and I am so grateful that I was able to do so many more times through the years.

Laura Bauer McConatha, Retired

Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers