When Volunteering Is More Than Just Keeping Busy
Photo/Eileen Kennedy
Margrit and John Oldenburg of Ayer.
Margrit and John Oldenburg believe once you’re retired, you should get out of the house.
In their case, they get out into the community by volunteering at the Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
“I couldn’t stay home,” John said referring to his retirement from his security guard position at the hospital. He worked there after a 20-plus year career in the U.S. Army. John, 83, started volunteering in the early 1980s and his wife Margrit joined him in the early 1990s.
Partners In Caring
The pair have been together for 57 years, after meeting in Germany during World War II. Between the two of them, they have logged more than 8,000 hours of volunteer service, with many more hours that haven’t even been counted, according to hospital officials.
John taught himself how to use computers, according to Margrit. “He’s learned a lot about computers. He told them, just let me figure out for myself and he did,” she said.
He helped create a database of donors in the development office, entering 30 years worth of data into the system. And with that under his belt he has moved down the hall to the fiscal services department where he is involved with a similar project. He works four mornings a week.
Margrit has volunteered in many departments over the years. She’s greeted patients in the emergency room, directed people to the right area of the hospital and helped in admissions when necessary. She is also responsible for “Project Help,” a telephone service that answers the public’s questions about health-related services.
She now works in the marketing and public relations office two mornings a week, where she is responsible for the physician referral line and overseeing signups for the community benefits programs.
They are also active in the Friends of Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and Margrit creates folk art that she donates to the annual Christmas fundraiser.
“They are active citizens in the community in which they live, as well as trusted and valued members of the hospital’s volunteer program. Both contribute their talent, time and efforts and both literally make an enormous difference in the ability of the departments in which they work to run effectively and smoothly,” said Rosanna Casavecchia, a marketing official at the hospital.
They both like all aspects of volunteering, including keeping busy and meeting people.
“This is a small hospital and we know almost everybody here. We’re all people-oriented. Nashoba has a reputation as a community hospital where you’re not a number. Here you have a name,” Margrit said.
From a greeting to getting answers to making sure every patients gets a small African violet plant provided by the Friends of Nashoba, the Oldenburgs said the hospital tries to make patients and visitors alike feel at home.
At one point, Margrit helped in the quality management office, where she called each patient to be sure the care they received was top-notch.
Margrit and John said they both enjoy the hospital employees they work with and they know their work is very much appreciated by the staff.
“Margrit and John Oldenburg are an essential part of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center and we feel privileged to know them,” Casavecchia said.
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