What inspired you to start volunteering? 

I’ve always been into social action. A friend and I in high school used to volunteer at the Hannah Moore shelter and do fun activities with the kids there. So it has gone back years, I’ve always enjoyed doing something and giving back.  

Have you worked with any other organizations besides the Jewish Connection Network? 

I hadn’t really found other volunteer opportunities anywhere else. I just went on JCN’s (Jewish Connection Network) website and found charities and organizations to work with through them. One organization that I have been involved with for about a year now that I found through JCN is My Sister’s Place, a women’s  shelter. 

Do you have a particular type of work that you enjoy most? 

I don’t really have a nice variety at this point, but I am looking forward to finding more types of opportunities once I have some more time. I will say, I have found myself gravitating more towards service projects that allow me to feed the hungry. I’ve worked with the Baltimore Hunger Project on their birthday kits . I would not be opposed to other types of work if the opportunity arose, however. I’m just most used to serving meals. 

How has your Jewish identity guided your decision to volunteer? 

Well, I was always in either Kadima or USY. So starting way back, to around 6th grade or so, we were always collecting money for tikkun olam (repair the world). We’d do things like serve meals to AIDS patients, and I’d also do work within my synagogue. So it’s how I was always shaped from a young age, and I grew up knowing that giving back was an important value. I definitely feel like my Jewish identity has grown from all the organizations I’ve been involved with. 

Tell me about your work as a teacher and how it has impacted your volunteering. 

I try to give back wherever I can, including at school. Around 2015 I brought the Bookworms Program, part of JCN, to my school — that’s where monthly volunteers come to read to kids in schools and then donate the books to their classroom libraries. Now we have enough great volunteers that the kindergarten, first grade and second grade classes can all be read to every month. I’ve also taken steps to make sure that the program will continue next year even when I’m not there to run it. 

Are there any volunteer experiences you’ve had that felt particularly impactful to you? 

Last summer I volunteered with a program through Hopkins — Camp Sunrise. We worked with children in the cancer ward to give them a summer camp experience. We set up various activities for them so that they could go to “camp” despite being in the hospital. Both inpatient kids as well as kids who just came during the day for treatments got to participate. I have only volunteered there once, but that really hit home. We may complain about things in our lives, but here are people facing real challenges  — children with cancer. That really put things into perspective for me. 

Do you have any volunteer projects that you’re especially proud of?  

I helped facilitate the holidays with My Sister’s Place; I coordinated a gift giving event. I got 65 volunteers and matched them up with women at the center so that they could receive gifts for the holidays. That was a feat! My whole dining room was packed with gifts. It was a really good feeling to get so many gifts for the women, people were so generous and giving. 

How do you balance your busy volunteering life with being a mom?  

Currently I work two and a half days a week so days off are the only times I can actually go somewhere. But when doing things like preparing casseroles to serve, we make them at nights and on weekends so that my kids can participate too. Unfortunately my 11-year-old son is still too young to participate in some of these opportunities, but I’ve taken my daughter to volunteer at My Sister’s Place to serve meals before. I also recently started with a program called Lasagna Love, where you make lasagna for someone in need, and that’s something I can also involve my kids in that’s not a huge time commitment.  

What does the future look like for you?  

I have a lot of things on the horizon. I’ve spoken to a friend about potentially helping out at Owings Mills High School’s food bank, and I’m also going to be reading to kids at my school with the Bookworm Program. I’ve also been asked to be on the Advisory Board for Jewish Community Services, so there’s a lot coming up. 

What do you like to do when you’re not volunteering?  

I love to travel and see new places, love to read (though I don’t read as much as I should). I also love to binge watch shows — I just started one called We are the Lucky Ones, it’s about the Holocaust. Bridgerton also starts up soon! Besides all that, I like spending time with family and friends, playing mahjong and playing pickleball.  

What’s something about yourself that might surprise people? 

I’m a very insecure person. You wouldn’t know it because I put on a good act, but internally I’m very insecure. But helping others gets me out of my head so that I’m not focusing so much on myself. Also, the people I help don’t know me so there aren’t any preconceived ideas; there aren’t any expectations.  

Do you have any advice for people wanting to get as involved in volunteer projects as you are? 

Definitely do your research. There are a plethora of opportunities on the JCN website, so you just have to look around. And if you don’t feel like one type of volunteering is the right fit for you, don’t give up, try something else. You may discover that you’re most content working with children or serving meals to the homeless. You can pick activities that are as big or as little of a time commitment as you want. There’s always time to fit something in if you want to make it happen.