Volunteering: It’s a Family Affair!

Meet Karen Silverman, Bill Goldberg, and their daughters, Eliana and Margalit. This family has been volunteering with JFS for many years in a number of capacities. Before they had children, Karen and Bill came to JFS with their synagogue chavurah to assemble centerpieces to benefit the Weinberg Food Pantry. Then when their oldest daughter, Eliana, was in preschool at the JCC, the school did a food drive and delivered the food to the Pantry (at that time we didn’t have staff members pick up the food). “When we dropped off the food, Eliana really wanted to stay and sort it,” says Karen. “She was too young to officially volunteer at the time, but the Pantry staff let her sort for a few minutes and she loved it! Every time we came to drop off food, Eliana and then Margalit spent a short time sorting the food.”

The family continued to work on food drives through the JCC Preschool until a few years ago when the children moved on to elementary school. The experience has made quite an impact on both Eliana and Margalit, now nine and six, respectively. “On every birthday since she was in Kindergarten, Eliana has collected food for the Pantry instead of birthday gifts,” says Karen. “Once we collect the food, we drop it off so we can sort it and put it away since the girls enjoy that piece so much.”

Karen and Bill felt that it was important to not only collect items for food drives, but to show the girls how the Pantry works. So, Karen now brings them to volunteer at the Pantry whenever they have days off from school. Last year, the day before Thanksgiving, Karen and the girls came to drop off food for JFS’s Thanksgiving food drive. “There were other kids sorting, so we asked if we could stay, too,” explains Karen. “We stayed to help and we all had a great time!” They also came to sort around Christmas time.

“For Martin Luther King Day, I wanted to find a place to volunteer,” says Karen. “All of the opportunities were for older kids. The Pantry was closed on MLK day, so we asked to bring home rice to bag. We invited over some of the girls’ friends and they did it together. They were so efficient that they bagged 100 pounds in only an hour - it was amazing to watch! I don’t think we give kids enough opportunity to show what they’re capable of accomplishing in a volunteer setting.”

“The Pantry is not a supermarket,” says Karen. “I want Eliana and Margalit to understand the process and see what goes on beyond donating food. By participating in sorting and working in the Pantry, it also gives the girls a chance to do something tangible that they can be proud of.” Karen adds, “It is amazing to see how hard my daughters work when they are sorting food. They really get into it and enjoy it. It’s all about efficiency - they set up assembly lines and develop systems to get the job done faster.”

This summer, the family packed items for our Lunch & Learning program, which provides lunches and school supplies for low-income students during the summer. Eliana was inspired by this project and took it upon herself to organize a school supply drive at the JCC! The girls created posters, signs, and flyers and hung them up around the JCC. While Eliana is away at camp, Karen and Margalit check the donation bins everyday.
In addition, the family has delivered food to JFS clients on holidays and participates in the Bright Holidays gift program with their chavurah. The chavurah “adopts” a family for whom they purchase holiday gifts.

Thank you, Karen, Bill, Eliana, and Margalit for all your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm! We truly appreciate all that you do for JFS and the community!

For more information about volunteer opportunities at JFS, contact Nancy Benyamin at (303) 597.5000 x369.