SWAMPSCOTT — For Seaglass Village Executive Director Anne Quagrello, who took over the role in August, the best part about volunteering to help others is the connections she forms along the way.
Seaglass Village is a nonprofit organization aimed at helping older people live independently throughout the communities of Swampscott, Nahant, and Marblehead, with plans to expand into Salem.
She said she had never worked for a town before that point, explaining how she found diving into the deep end of the work an interesting process. Previously, she worked for a mutual fund company, which she described as “a different world.”
“My first step into a career after raising my kids was at the Senior Center. I had done some volunteering there and found it to be such a warm place,” she recalled. “I couldn’t believe how wonderful a community it was that I didn’t really know about. … And a job quickly came up for the Activities Coordinator.
“The best part, for me, was the relationships I built with the people. I met a woman who lived next to my grandfather growing up — who told me about him teaching her to make meatballs,” she continued. “So, it was really just this love of community, it grew, and grew, and grew; it was just really rewarding to work with them.”
Quagrello added that she would also occasionally see her mother at the senior center, which she called a happy, warm environment.
From there, she got the chance to learn more about the needs of the town and its growing senior community, which compelled Quagrello to want to help improve their lives however possible.
“The senior center continued to grow, and it got to a point where my position was going to be a little more full-time, and I didn’t have the bandwidth with my kids to go full-time, so I stepped back,” Quagrello said. “From there, I worked for a nonprofit called NPOC, who does background services for a large group of nonprofits. … So, I started to learn about nonprofits there.”
However, Quagrelloe explained a connection to the community was lacking.
“I really missed that community feel and the connection to the people. … So, when I saw the job for Executive Director, I said, ‘I really have to try to do that,’” she said.
After meeting and interviewing with members of the nonprofit, she said she was quickly impressed with how they came together to form Seaglass Village.
She continued, explaining the biggest factors that drew her to the position.
“The community, and my need to get back into the connection with that community, more than anything. … Their needs haven’t gone away — the population is getting bigger, so the needs are getting bigger — so, wanting to do my part there and help out was what really drew me in,” she said. “It was amazing that this position opened up that had the nonprofit element as well as the connection to the community; it was just a perfect match for me.”
She cited Director of Aging Services Heidi Whear as another reason she felt pulled to join, explaining that she felt Whear’s vision for the town and senior population was incredible.
“She has such great thoughts, she’s such a doer, and I was so excited to get back with her and see what we could accomplish,” she said.
Though it’s the chance to make a real, solid impact in the lives of the community they serve that’s critical to Quagrello. She continued, explaining how it’s a personal mission for her with two aging parents.
“The aging community is a soft spot for me. … I have aging parents myself, and most people my age have aging parents. … So, knowing the tough spot a lot of people are in — where we’re still raising our kids and also caring for our parents — I’m hoping that I can help make that part of life a little bit easier for people.”
Quagrello said she knows how the situation can be stressful and how many people are currently navigating those challenges.
“If this one little piece of life — like driving people to help get them to their doctor — if that little piece can make their life better, it will also make their parents’ lives better, and I’m so happy about that,” she said.
