Sherborn Teen Youngest-Ever To Win Volunteerism Award At Newton-Wellesley Hospital

A Sherborn teen was honored recently as the youngest-ever to receive the Outstanding Volunteer Award at Newton-Wellesley Hospital for his service at the hospital's Pediatric Inpatient Care Unit.

Kevin Bloom, a junior at The Rivers School in Weston, was one of over 800 volunteers at the hospital to receive one of six volunteerism awards given out at the hospital last Monday, an award that has been given for over 30 years.

Kevin uses his musical talents to play guitar and other instruments to children to help keep their minds in a more positive place.

“I’ve seen them go from looking really completely out of it and miserable, to really enjoying, sort of- not enjoying being in the hospital, but not looking like they hate everything,” Bloom said.

Kevin combined his musical and volunteering requirements at The Rivers School into a musical-therapy volunteer position, which he and his supervisor at the hospital, Inpatient Life Care Specialist Kristy Berksza, created.

"What's really amazing about Kevin is how he's brought his musical talents to his volunteering. Each week he brings his guitar (and sometimes a spare guitar, or a drum - or both!) and plays music for the children. He's been known to give guitar lessons, and has even left his guitar here at the hospital so kids can practice throughout the length of their admission!," Berksza said.

He got the idea to use music therapy as part of his volunteering from time he spent in the hospital when he was younger.

"I had been a patient at the hospital when I was in seventh grade and from my time there I knew that volunteers could come in and help patients and actually my brother when he was in the hospital a person came in and played the bongo drums with him and he said it made all the difference in the world," Bloom said.

“I wouldn’t say my music is necessarily helping people. I guess it just helps people get their mind off things,” Kevin said. “I guess distraction is a really great tool when it comes to helping people feel better.”

“I really love when a kid wants to learn how to play music and then I’ll show them how to play the guitar if they want and I’ll let them keep my guitar for a week,” said Bloom.

Kevin is in his second year of volunteering at Newton-Wellesley where he goes every Thursday to assist in any way he can.

“I am sort of the in-between, between the nurses and the patients. I’ll go in when [the nurses] aren’t in the room or doing their thing and I’ll get the patient anything they need whether it be games or toys or anything else," he said.

"Kevin is patient, kind, and humble. He clearly just wants to help - even on weeks where there are no playful children, Kevin offers to come in and work on projects to help keep our program running smoothly. It is this kind of selfless desire to help others that shines through in all he does here," Berksza.

Kevin even shares his musical talents with adult patients at the hospital.

“I actually also get adults too when the adult wing overflows and spills into pediatrics and I’ve had some patients who can play music pretty well and I would bring in two guitars and we would jam,” Bloom said.

His mom, Veronica, said that they have received letters from people who are very grateful for the work he has done.

“People have written notes to Kevin. One lady wrote a note saying that he had taken such good care of her daughter that when people ask what hospital they should go to she wrote: ‘I recommend Newton-Wellesley, not because of the doctors but because of Kevin,’” Veronica said. “A local dentist wrote a beautiful recommendation for college for Kevin. A lot of people have written beautiful letters to us.”

Kevin, who said he wants to be a musician when he gets older, said he doesn't think that it is his music that makes a difference to the patients but music in general that keeps the patients positive. He also spoke about the importance of volunteering for young people.

“A lot of people take for granted that they have a lot of time in their life to do things and they feel like they can just do something later in their life. But I think throughout your entire life you should always work to give back and I feel like the world would be such a better place if everyone took some time, at every stage in their life, to give back in some small way,” Kevin said.