Published: April 21, 2025
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Charles “Chuck” Harger doesn’t have a history as an “official” volunteer. Before he retired, he worked in the steel industry in Youngstown, Ohio. His wife, Kay, whom he met in first grade and started dating in high school, was a teacher. Together, the couple raised three kids there, all of whom Harger coached in baseball, soccer, and softball.
“Our lives were pretty busy with work and kids’ activities,” he recalled.
Shortly after their 55th wedding anniversary, though, he lost Kay. She’d been sick for seven years — originally, with dementia, then with Parkinson’s disease. For two years, Harger cared for Kay at home before realizing he needed some help. And luckily, he found the support he needed with the hospice team at Traditions Health.
“They took good care of her,” Harger said. “The nurses and aides. I learned you could tell a lot from someone’s eyes. From watching my wife’s eyes, I knew she was happy when they came in the room.”
After Kay passed away, Harger felt lost.
“Anytime you lose someone, there’s a void,” Harger said. “I knew Traditions Health had done so much for us. So, I decided to see if I could do something for them.”
Meaningful work
Harger’s first task as a volunteer was prompted by a visit Volunteer Coordinator Ailisha Scartozzi made to his home. Harger had learned Scartozzi’s nephew liked to fish, so he invited the two over to scour his garage for fishing gear. Harger, who used to fish, had sold his bass boat and wasn’t using his equipment anymore. He told Scartozzi’s nephew he could take whatever he wanted.
What struck Scartozzi, though, was the cleanliness and organization of Harger’s garage itself. Harger recalled her exclaiming, “You could eat off the floor in here!”
Immediately, Scartozzi proposed Harger organize the Traditions Health storage room, which was in a bit of disarray.
“I thought, ‘OK, that’s something I can do,’” Harger said.
That was the beginning of Harger’s volunteer work with Traditions four years ago. Today, it’s hard for him to recall all the things he does. There’s keeping the storage room organized and stocked, of course, but he also hangs whiteboards, changes batteries in smoke detectors, and, generally, “fixes things” — serving as a resident handyman. He also dresses up for different holidays to visit patients. One Easter, he was a carrot. One St. Patrick’s Day, a leprechaun.
Each weekday, if he doesn’t receive a phone call first from his “wing manager,” Scheduler Deborah Harvey, about something that needs to be done, Harger reports to the office to see how he can help.
“It makes me feel good to be able to do something for someone else,” he said.
Yet the role most meaningful to Harger is assisting with pinning ceremonies, special events held each Veterans Day to recognize hospice patients who served their country. As a veteran himself, Harger dons his old uniform — one he can still fit into more than 60 years later — every 11th of November and helps with the pinning. And sometimes, if a patient is too sick to leave their room, the pinning ceremony is even held at their bedside.
Harger will never forget one specific bedside pinning ceremony. It honored a woman who was a former Marine. Her nurses told Harger she didn’t talk much, especially about her past. But during the pinning, one of the nurses asked the patient if they could take her picture. She responded that she’d only be OK with it if it was with Harger.
“It must have been something about my uniform,” he said.
After the picture, the woman started talking, telling Harger about how her husband had been a Marine, too, and how each of their four kids had been born during their military deployments.
“She told me where each of her kids was born and when,” Harger said. “And she told me all about her husband. When we left, one of the nurses told me she’d never talked about that part of her life. I’ll never forget that.”
A chance to make a difference
At 80 years old, Harger believes every morning he gets to wake up to a new day is a gift, one more opportunity he was given to help someone else.
“There’s so much negativity in the world,” he said. “You don’t have to be an official volunteer to volunteer. Just be nice to people. Tell someone ‘hi’ or to have a nice day. Help someone reach something off a high shelf in the grocery store. There are a million things you can do to help someone else. And I think helping others actually ends up helping you. It makes you a better person.”
Harger hopes he’s still volunteering when he’s 90 and thinks that doing things for others will help him get there.
Volunteer with Traditions Health
Hospice volunteers at Traditions Health help in a variety of ways. From providing companionship to a patient in their home to assisting with special events, volunteers play an important role and are vital members of the care team.
Learn more about volunteer opportunities. Or apply to get started.