Meet Laurie Farmer, Our Featured Volunteer from Atlanta!
Get to know our volunteers!
Do you volunteer at a specific hospital? I volunteer at Atlanta VA & Alive Hospice.
How long have you been volunteering with Musicians On Call? I have been volunteering since 2013.
Are you a volunteer guide or musician? Guide
What is your occupation outside of MOC? Property/Assets Mgr and Retail Sales
Do you have any hidden talents? Not-so-hidden, maybe more like hobbies: horses, tennis, singing with the church Praise team and a local band.
What is your story? What connects you with music and why do you volunteer with MOC? Wow! This is tough to answer concisely. I’ve always been a huge lover of country music and musicals, performing on and off since high school. I’ve experienced and witnessed how music can change a mood and bring comfort and joy. My son was leaving the nest to pursue music at Belmont in Nashville when I heard a PSA on my favorite country station in Atlanta mentioning MOC needing volunteers. I’ve always felt the need to “give back” and thought this might be an opportunity to do good work but also, selfishly, to have a great reason to visit Nashville without seeming like a helicopter mom who missed her college kid terribly! Once I met with the wonderful ladies in the Nashville office and learned more about the work and the needs of this wonderful organization, I was hooked!
What makes MOC different from your other volunteer experiences? Having worked for Children’s Miracle Network, Special Olympics, Make A Wish, Iron Horse Equine Therapy programs and more, I can honestly say that volunteering with MOC is the most personal, intimate, and rewarding experience of all.
Has your life changed because of your experience with Musicians On Call? I feel so blessed to have been able to “give back’ and sincerely thank deserving veterans in the Atlanta VA. My life has been so enriched with bittersweet and beautiful moments with MOC in hospital and hospice rooms over the past several years!
What is your favorite #MOCmoment? There are so many beautiful, memorable MOC moments!! For example, after we played for a VA patient recently, he said in his low, feeble voice, “Tuesday nights are my FAVORITE nights!” We just about melted! And another that comes to mind is when we asked to play for an elderly gentleman whose sister was frustrated, trying to spoonfeed him his dinner. He was refusing to eat. She said we could come on in and play, but that he was in quite a negative mood. During the songs, he was so enthralled and delighted by the music, he was smiling and more agreeable to taking several bites. His whole temperament changed. I said lightheartedly that he could “enjoy Dinner & A Show” And his sister was so grateful that we were there at that moment, making their evening and dinnertime together a success!
