When most Wayland High School students think of fun after-school activities, volunteer work isn’t at the top of their lists. Senior Caroline Kreidberg has a different view.
After school this Tuesday, January 29, Kreidberg will be hosting a chamber music concert at Sunrise Senior Living in Wayland. The concert will consist of mostly solo performances and a few group performances by Kreidberg, seniors Jing He, Zoe Schattenburg, Jonathan Von Mering and Andy Marton, juniors Maddie Memoli and Anna Lifland, sophomore Katherine Wang and freshmen William Paik, Anthony Schleppi and Anirudh Nagesha.
Kreidberg started working at Sunrise last summer and continues to visit three to five times a week during the school year.
“I just wanted something to do over the summer, but I knew within the first week that I loved it so much, so it became a big part of my life,” Kreidberg said.
At Sunrise, Kreidberg spends her time doing various activities with the residents such as bingo and arts and crafts. Kreidberg also organized a baking club at Sunrise.
Kreidberg loves volunteering at Sunrise Senior Living because of the people she has met. The Sunrise community has become a second family to Kreidberg, who has spent time there with World War II veterans and nurses.
“It’s really interesting because they used to care for people, and now there are people caring for them,” Kreidberg said.
One of Kreidberg’s favorite memories from volunteering at Sunrise was when she bonded with a woman she helped feed birds. They would fill up the bird feeder together and then sit and talk while they watched the birds.
Sunrise often hosts concerts, and Kreidberg wanted to bring musicians from Wayland’s fine arts program to perform. Kreidberg spoke to orchestra and band members and invited them to perform.
“I love music, and I love volunteering there, so I thought it would be a good idea to combine the two interests,” Kreidberg said.
Kreidberg, who loves music because she likes being able to work creatively with a group of people, has been playing the viola for nine years and wanted to share her love of music with the Sunrise residents.
“Being inside the music is exciting,” Kreidberg said. “I just hope that we can make them happy. They love it when I come over, so I’m sure they’ll love it even more when there are 10 of us over there. It’s just to show them that we care.”