Visiting the homebound, raising money, cooking and delivering food, running Chinese auctions and plays, providing money to the underprivileged, helping the childless, providing support for the physically and mentally ill, and a myriad other tasks are done by workers who are never paid for their time, energy, and devotion. I’m talking about volunteers, of course, and we all know people who devote hours and hours, days and nights, to helping others. What motivates them? Why do they do what they do?
I think the desire to do good for others is wired into most humans: some to a greater degree and some to a lesser one. Both secular and Torah sources feature stories about misers and cruel despots who hated giving or helping others and are therefore scorned by all. The ideal is to be a kind person who wants to help others. Giving charity and extending oneself for causes that one believes in are universal values. Some people were brought up in a home where doing chesed was a priority. They saw their parents’ involvement with community organizations, schools, and shuls, as well as more personal chasadim. It is natural for these children, when they become adults, to look for opportunities to help others. Other people, those without a parental example, may find that reaching out to others comes less naturally. They might have to fight inertia, shyness, and laziness to get involved.
Yet the opportunities to volunteer are endless, and most people can find a niche that suits their personality and talents. If fact, that is desirable because a person is unlikely to stay involved with a project that they find distasteful or unpleasant.
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I met Rivka* while she was learning a sefer with her friend who lives in a nursing home. She told me, “I choose to fill my time with activities that I enjoy. Once someone called and asked me to cook a meal once a month for seven young men. My immediate response was, “No, thank you.” Cooking a big supper is just not something I can commit to. Learning once a week with my friend is more up my alley.
Tova,* a friend, who runs an organization with a big budget actually raises most of the money from her kitchen table. She is comfortable calling people and getting donations. She really believes in the cause and enjoys the challenge.
Sora* is enthusiastic about her volunteer work as an advocate for children in the school system. She has the skills, knowledge, experience and personality to help parents navigate the system, and she uses them to help others in that unique fashion.
Penina,* who started volunteering only because she was asked to take on a “job” by a person she respected, found that she enjoyed the social interaction and the interesting people she met through her work.
Judy Landman is acting in the Simchas Esther Purim shpeil for her third year. Simchas Esther, an organization that helps kallas and chasanim, puts on the play some years as a fund raiser. The play is funny and brings the woman of the community into the spirit of Purim. Judy explained her enthusiasm for this project: “Being a part of the Purim shpeil is a wonderful opportunity for me. I enjoy using my talents to produce something enjoyable for the community and to support a great cause at the same time. It is a commitment of many evenings of practice for six to eight weeks, but my family understands how important this is to me and encourages me to go to practices as often as necessary. I myself was a recipient of hachnasas kallah funds when I got married long before Simchas Esther was in existence,” Judy continues, “and I still have hakaras hatov to the woman who arranged it for me. This is a great way for me to give back to the community that was there for me when I needed help.”
Gavi Pachino, a senior at TA, is an avid volunteer for Chai Lifeline. He loves being busy and making a difference in the lives of the children he works with, and enthusiastically explains his work with the organization. Chai Lifeline arranges all sorts of fun activities for the children and their families and as a volunteer he also takes part in those activities. He feels that he and his friends who volunteer are good role models for younger students who will also want to help and be involved.
* a pseudonym
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Being a volunteer entails making a commitment to follow through on what you volunteered to do. As one coordinator said when asked about problems her organization had with volunteers, “Sometimes we have volunteers who were supposed do a job but did not. At an event, that could translate to not having enough food, not having people to set up, or even worse. My recommendation is to only say yes if you are sure you can follow through, and if you have said yes and you realize you are not able to keep your commitment, let the organization know as soon as possible so they can work around it. Also saying yes to things you like to do will be a way to make sure those things get done. If you really enjoy baking and you volunteer to make a few cakes, that is more likely to work out than offering to make phone calls, if you hate making phone calls. Everyone has something they enjoy doing, so they should work that into their volunteering.
To help the community find volunteer opportunities that match their talents I asked organizations what kind of attributes they are looking for in their volunteers. Here are some responses:
Simchas Esther: “The women who run Simchas Esther have been doing so for 20 years,” says Judy Neuberger. “With an eye to the future, we would like to find one or two younger women to join the organization’s board. These women would have to have the time and patience needed to be active in this endeavor, as well as the ability to do creative thinking. We are always looking for new ideas for fundraising and possibly expanding the aid we already offer. Because Simchas Esther is an established organization that always asks our rabbanim before taking new steps, we would want volunteers who understand that things are run in a certain way for good reasons and who will follow the existing protocol. Also, obviously, a tzedaka organization that helps others requires an understanding of the importance of keeping the names of the recipients private in order to keep their dignity intact. Most of our board members have no idea who we are helping, and it must continue that way.”
If someone wants to get involved, they can call Mrs. Aviva Isbee, Mrs. Judy Neuberger, or Mrs. Rochel Mandel (table top gemach) or Mrs. Miriam Insel (Purim shpeil director).
Yachad Baltimore: Sima Levine says, “Yachad is always looking for children and adults who can join our activities and act as peers to the clients with disabilities whom we serve. We do not call them volunteers because we don’t want people to feel they are volunteering when they participate in our activities. We want them to feel that they are hanging out with their friends and doing a fun activity. We do all sorts of activities, from going to different schools and colleges to Pizza and Parsha, as well as chesed events and much more.”
In both Yachad’s junior division, for children ages 8 to 16, and senior division, age 17 and up, Yachad Baltimore strives for an inclusive atmosphere. They are looking for peers who will feel comfortable interacting and getting to know the Yachad members and hope the peers will keep coming back. To avoid misunderstandings and problems, Yachad Baltimore explains to peers what to expect before they come.
If you are interested in becoming a peer with Yachad Baltimore, please contact Sima Levine at levines@ou.org, or call the Yachad Baltimore office at 443-451-3307. Once you sign up as a peer, you will be on their email list and WhatsApp group to get the monthly calendar and reminders about events.
Bikur Cholim: Bonnie Pollock explains that Bikur Cholim is always looking for new volunteers; there can never be too many. Volunteers visit homes, hospitals, and rehab centers. Other volunteers cook, deliver meals, give rides to medical appointments, and stay with children and/or adults in the hospital to relieve family members. They specifically are looking for women to help families around dinner time or to stay with children if there is a need in the middle of the night.
Bikur Cholim wants the experience to be pleasant for the volunteer and will ask the person what they are interested in doing, as well as what days and times work best for them. Bonnie stresses that they understand if a person cannot help at a particular time. Just because you are sometimes not available does not mean that you shouldn’t volunteer. They are happy to use your services when you are available.
To volunteer for Bikur Cholim, please sign up on their website Baltimorebikurcholim.org or call 410-999-3700.
Jewish Caring Network: According to Rochie Tenenbaum, JCN is always open to new volunteers so that their current volunteers do not get burnt out. “We need help picking up food from various locations and delivering it to local homes or hospitals daily. There is also a need for help in doing other errands, like shopping for a specific family, whether for a list of groceries or going to Walmart or Target.
“A volunteer for Jewish Caring Network needs to be responsible and reliable and respectful of the anonymity of the families that we serve,” Rochie continues. “Once a person decides to volunteer, it is important that he or she be committed to the job because it is very hard to find replacements in the last minute. We are careful to give jobs to people who are comfortable doing them. For example, if a person is uncomfortable driving downtown, we will find them a job to do locally. Our goal is to keep our volunteers happy so that they will continue to volunteer for many years to come.”
To volunteer for Jewish Caring Network, please email Rochie Tenenbaum at baltimorechesed1@gmail.com, or text her at 443-929-1525
Chai Lifeline: “Chai Lifeline is incredibly fortunate to have an amazing volunteer base!” says Yardena Gardyn. “Our volunteers are Chai Lifeline, and we wouldn’t be able to help any of the hundreds of families we service without their efforts and dedication! We are currently looking for adult volunteers (both male and female) to help with transportation, meals, and special requests. We are always looking for passionate and reliable adults who preferably have their own means of transportation.”
If someone wants to volunteer, he/she can email us at midatlantic@chailifeline.org. He or she will then be notified as specific requests come up for our families.”
N’shei Agudas Yisroel: “From my perspective, N’shei is always looking for volunteers of any sort,” says Zeecil Gholian. “We welcome help from anyone – from those who want to organize an entire event to those more comfortable with individual contributions, like making food for events or calling businesses for Chinese auction prizes. We need more volunteers for setup and cleanup, to serve as a committee head, and even to speak about a topic of her expertise. Mrs. Chavi Barenbaum, president of N’shei, is an amazing person to work with. She is very devoted to the community and to every individual in the community, and really appreciates everyone’s talents.
To volunteer for N’shei simply email nsheibaltimore@gmail.com or call Mrs. Barenbaum directly at 410-764-6264.
Menucha: Rabbi Aryeh Richter, director of Menucha, describes it as an organization that services children with special needs and their families. “The evening program provides respite to the families while including the children in structured social programs designed to fit their unique needs,” he says. “The Shabbos program will provide opportunities for families to send their children with special needs to a host family for Shabbos. This will allow the families to get much needed rest while allowing their child to enjoy a Shabbos within the community.”
Menucha is looking for volunteers in the following areas: 1) Evening program: drivers are needed to transport the participants to and from the program as well as volunteers to be at the program with the children (females, preferably 18 years and older). Please contact Miriam Waxman at 443-709-7339. 2) Volunteers are needed to chaperone a Menucha child to a host family for a whole Shabbos (females, high school age and above).
Please contact Rabbi Richter at 443-334-5927 for more information.
Spectrum: According to Zeecil Gholian, the goal of SPECTRUM, which stands for Supporting People Experiencing Crises Through a Real Understanding of Mental health, is to provide help for families suffering from mental illness on a short-term basis. In this organization, since we are working with mental health, there are some volunteering opportunities that require certain personalities, but other activities are open to anyone who wants to help.
Some of the activities in which volunteers can participate include visits to patients in mental hospitals (men to visit male patients and women to visit female patients). For these visits we would require volunteers who are discreet, able to maintain strict boundaries, and follow rules. “We have a volunteer coordinator who screens volunteers and gives training along with ideas of how to engage with patients,” says Zeecil. “In addition to visiting, we send food to patients, and this requires volunteers who can cook healthy food and/or deliver it to hospitals. Sometimes we have errands or other small tasks that are necessary (watering plants, feeding pets), and flexible volunteers for these tasks are needed.
“We are starting a new initiative to help families in crisis with homework. This would be a Big/Little-type program, with surrogate grandparents helping children. We are looking for older men and women in the community who could help children with homework in a neighborhood shul or in the “grandparent’s” home. We would want to also provide a healthy snack and a healthy environment and some homework help on a short-term basis.”
Besides these programs, Zeecil mentions a large toy drive for Chanukah. “For this program, we got donations, either money or brand-new, unused toys someone might have in their house. Or, for anyone who loves shopping, we are looking to find toys for $5 or less (a good source is clearance at Walmart/Marshalls). This past year we distributed 300 toys, wrapped by volunteers. (No talent required – the children love the toys even if they are wrapped crooked!)”
With Chanukah over, Zeecil has plans for a Pesach drive this year featuring healthy snacks and family games. Anyone who has items to contribute can drop them off at 6715 Darwood Drive. Please don’t be shy. People should volunteer for things they enjoy doing as they will then be motivated to do the job well.
Persons wanting to volunteer should contact the organization at info@spectrummd.org. Please specify what you are interested in and whether you have any additional talents to contribute.
There are certainly many opportunities to get involved in and be part of these wonderful chesed organizations. I hope that my readers will find this list useful and will reach out to see what they can do that matches their talents, desires, and beliefs.
