Meet Claire Cawein, Our Featured Volunteer from Chicago!
Get to know our volunteers!
Do you volunteer at a specific hospital? I volunteer at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
How long have you been volunteering with Musicians On Call? 2 years
Are you a volunteer guide or musician? Guide
What is your occupation outside of MOC? I am currently a nursing student in Chicago.
Do you have any hidden talents? Unfortunately I have no musical talent whatsoever (I wish!), but my roommate says that I can make really great banana bread.
What is your story? What connects you with music and why do you volunteer with MOC? I first began volunteering in Nashville when I was attending Belmont University. At the time, I was studying to work in the music industry. I wanted to begin volunteering in my free time and MOC seemed like the perfect fit to combine music with helping others.
What makes MOC different from your other volunteer experiences? MOC is so different than other volunteer experiences because as little as 5 minutes can have such a profound impact. The amount of joy we can bring to patients in such a short amount of time is so memorable to both us and them! No time goes wasted and I think that’s unique to the program.
Has your life changed because of your experience with MOC? My life has actually changed profoundly, because I decided to make a switch from working in the music industry to becoming a nurse, which was partly influenced by my experience with MOC. Now as a nursing student, MOC is a great outlet which allows me to have some fun in the clinical setting!
What is your favorite #MOCmoment? One of my most memorable moments was at Alive Hospice, when the patient allowed our musician to choose the song, and our musician randomly choose the wedding song of the patient and his wife who was in the room. That was a really special moment, but there have truly been too many like this to count!
