Tim Anderson spent decades as a “road warrior,” driving up Interstate 95 to his “beige cubicle” where he worked as a defense contractor.
He enjoyed the work, but four years ago, at 54, Anderson decided it was time to retire. A parishioner of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, he wanted to spend his days doing what he wanted to do and invest in his community.
Not knowing how he would use retirement, Anderson enrolled in the nursing program at Germanna Community College in Locust Grove. Within three years he was a registered nurse.
Today, he is an invaluable member of the volunteer team at Catholic Charities Mother of Mercy Free Clinics. Practicing health care by volunteering at the clinic has opened a world he hardly knew existed during his working days.
Because work and homelife obligations can be overwhelming, Anderson said, “For most of us, we end up living our lives and you pretty much have blinders on. But volunteering allows you to take off the blinders and see all walks of life. You widen the aperture on life. You can be more impactful.”
“Tim is a nurse, but he is a jack of all trades, so he does everything for us,” said Alexandra Luevano, director of the Woodbridge and Manassas clinics. “He goes above and beyond to help in any capacity. He doesn’t only volunteer with us, he volunteers in several other Catholic organizations.”
“I have roomed patients (taken vitals with preliminary questions), participated in flu shot clinics, scribed for providers, and transported the weekly medication and insulin orders from the pharmacy to both clinic sites,” Anderson said. “I have organized contents of rooms, filled propane tanks in a crunch, regularly organized the free food and clothes section. Outside, I have mowed and trimmed the lawn, blown thousands of leaves (maybe millions), pruned a few big tree branches, repainted, and signed the handicap parking spots, and painted white concrete wheel stops at the end of each parking space. I’m working with some parish priests to repurpose some excess furniture.”
When he’s not at Mother of Mercy, Anderson offers his nursing services to the Guadalupe Free Medical Clinic in Colonial Beach on the Northern Neck, and at Micah Ministries’ Hesed House, an interim housing ministry for homeless neighbors in Fredericksburg. Previously, he drove a van for diocesan Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services.
“I have done a little bit of everything,” Anderson said, “and the variety is refreshing.”
His many working years prepared him to be a good nurse, he said.
“You still have to learn, but you can relate more with people of all walks of life. You see more things. You understand more. You have more empathy,” he said. “Health care is an easy way to live your faith. With health care, people are honest with you and you can hear them speak of elements of forgiveness in their lives.”
Snider is diocesan deputy director of communications.
Find out more
To volunteer at Catholic Charities Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinics in Woodbridge or Manassas, email [email protected].
