Music Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Tim Uecker
An experienced MyMusicRx Volunteer, Tim Uecker has played music for kids battling serious medical illnesses for over 15 years. He started volunteering in 2001 when he was working at a local music shop and heard about the MyMusicRx Hallway Harmonics volunteer music program.
The Hallway Harmonics volunteers play for kids at Randall Children’s Hospital and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, filling the hallways with soothing music. Volunteers like Tim have helped serve over 3,800 kids in the last year alone.
Since volunteering for the first time, Tim Uecker has played at events, shared his experience openly and kindly with everyone that asks, and, most importantly, he has volunteered over 578 hours. That’s over 578 hours of relief, strength, and laughter that Tim has provided to kids in the Portland area!
A Learned Extrovert
For most of his life, music has been a guiding compass. Somewhat begrudgingly, Tim admitted that music has made him a “learned extrovert.”
“Music allows me to connect with all walks of life, no matter the factors in between,” he said.
Tim recalled a moment from one of his playing sessions that stuck with him ever since:
“ I was playing softly in the hallway when a young girl walked up to me. She was pulling her I.V. pole, tubes hanging down beside her, but she was solely focused on the music. She asked me to play Somewhere over the Rainbow. I was surprised when she started singing while I played the guitar. Everything stopped, and that was a great moment. It was a life-giving moment. The music adds momentum to [the child’s] fight and helps them move forward. Music is a healing process for the world.”
MyMusicRx Brings Us Together
Today, Tim can pull from a multitude of memories to justify how important music is in times of healing:
“It’s not only the children; parents will stand in the doorways, and nurses will hum along to the song I’m playing. Sometimes I will get a nod, just a slight nod, not a verbal thank you, but they’re still saying, ‘That’s good music, I needed to hear that.’”
Another powerful moment for Tim was when a young girl’s father walked out of the patient room to let Tim know that music was his daughter’s favorite thing at the hospital and that he truly believed that through music, his daughter would find the strength and power to overcome her illness.
“Months later, I was playing at a small coffee shop, the door opened and in walked the same father and daughter. Her hair was grown in, and she was going back to school full-time. They came to thank me for all the times I had played outside her room.”
Playing music in the hospital has personal benefits for Tim, too.
“It becomes a moment where I can just play. I like streaming music, where one song goes into the next. I have a crazy life too, but the MyMusicRx Hallway Harmonics program is great for me because I don’t need to draw a crowd to play, but I am still making relationships and connecting with all walks of life.”
CCA has a lot to be thankful for, and we’re thankful to Tim Uecker! Here’s to you Tim and many more musical moments to come.
Get Involved
Enjoy playing music? We are always looking for talented musicians to add to our growing team of music volunteers! Apply online to get involved!