We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, “It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.” Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” – Fred Rogers
October’s volunteer of the month is our wonderful Jan Korenman. Jan worked as the office manager for her husband’s dental practice. “After I retired,” she said, “I missed my connection with people. Volunteering at the pantry fills my heart so much. I enjoy meeting new people and feeling like I am making someone’s life a little bit easier.”
She says her dear friends, Mimi and Jack Halpern, talked about the Pantry and what good work JFCS does to help the community. And she wanted to be a part of that. (Mimi and Jack Halpern were JFCS’s Volunteers of the Year at the annual meeting in June – recruiting more volunteers is just one of the many reasons why!)
“I love my Tuesday mornings at the JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry. I enjoy everyone I volunteer with. I have met so many wonderful people, other volunteers and pantry clients.”
Some of her favorite activities include filling Passover orders, filling summer produce orders from Sunday’s farmers market donations, and the annual Littles Shoe store Naot shoe donation!
She has come to know so many of the clients. Like one older gentleman who takes the bus to and from the Pantry. “He is very sweet. He walks with a walker and after we have finished shopping, he has me put the groceries in plastic bags. I’ve learned to distribute them evenly around the walker so that he can walk out and catch his bus. We always have a nice visit. And I try to make things as easy as possible for him.”
Jan has lived in Squirrel Hill for 44 years and has been involved in the community through volunteering, her job and her children’s schools. “Now I want to devote myself to the Pantry to help erase the need for those that are food deprived,” she says. And she does, and we are so grateful to know her!