Gray Ladies

The Gray Ladies were American Red Cross volunteers who worked in American hospitals, other health-care facilities, and private homes, notably during World War II. They provided friendly, personal, non-medical services to sick, injured or disabled patients. They wrote letters, read, tutored and shopped for patients, and served as guides to visitors and as hostesses in hospital recreation rooms and at information desks. Gray Ladies also provided hospitality services in Red Cross Blood Centers and joined forces with other Red Cross workers in caring for disaster victims.