Lehigh Valley Marketplace

By Melanie Gold

There is nothing that bolsters you as much as doing work—paid or unpaid—that is in alignment with your values, and which adds greater meaning to your life.

For many Lehigh Valley residents, volunteering is a regular part of their routine, a natural part of life, whatever their age. They may have discovered that volunteering has its own rewards, but in the process volunteers also learn new skills, make new friends, and otherwise help themselves while they’re helping others.

Take Kathryn Craft, 53, of Bechtelsville, who has volunteered for decades for nonprofit organizations such as her church, a regional writers’ group and an international dance critics’ association, among others. Craft says her volunteerism “was born early in my career, when I became disillusioned with the notion that added effort equaled greater income.” At the time, Craft had earned a masters degree in health and physical education, but in her job at a health club, generating new sales seemed more important than helping people get well. That was when she realized she “needed to live a life that suited my passions and that made sense to me.”

Later, when Craft became involved with a foxhunting club, she became its membership chair and newsletter editor. She stuffed and stamped envelopes for the club while her son took martial arts classes . . . and then she enlisted the help of the other waiting parents, too. The skills she gained from those volunteer efforts directly led to her first business, a small company that specialized in custom communications such as brochures and resumes. The social network she’d built from volunteering paid extra rewards.

“Some of those [martial arts] moms were among my first resume clients,” she says.

Craft is far from alone. Volunteering has long been promoted in public schools and became a federal imperative with the launch of www.serve.gov and the Office of Public Engagement. Regionally, the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley has since the 1980s assisted thousands of Lehigh Valley residents, from children to seniors, in identifying their interests and matching them with organizations that need them.

One of the Volunteer Center’s most popular projects is the Holiday Hope Chest, which turns a small shoe box into a child’s happy holiday. Families select the gender and age range of a child they wish to sponsor, then they fill a shoe box with age-appropriate items. With the gift suggestions provided by the Volunteer Center, a family can make a difference in a young person’s life without spending a lot of money or committing a lot of time during the busy holiday rush.

Volunteering fulfills a lot of things,” says Jane Trotter, the Volunteer Center’s vice president of programs. “Many people pick up skills that they don’t have in their job or in life

“Volunteering fulfills a lot of things,” says Jane Trotter, the Volunteer Center’s vice president of programs. “Many people pick up skills that they don’t have in their job or in life,” such as disaster relief training or literacy education that could enhance what they already know, or they might build a new network, or pick up leads to another career or their own business.

In addition, giving back brings physiological benefits, as volunteers enjoy what’s known as “helper’s high.” Medical research shows that helping others releases endorphins, which reduces stress and sensitivity to pain, contributes to overall well-being and even helps people live longer.

Emily Close reaches her own kind of high when she recruits volunteers. As the program manager for Community Bike Works, a small nonprofit in Allentown, Close works directly with volunteers in the 15-year-old program Earn-a-Bike, which teaches at-risk kids how to repair and maintain bicycles. Participants, ages nine to 17, take ownership of the recycled bikes at the end of the 12-week course. They also learn about healthy work ethics, self-confidence, and more.

“We have three staff, and the rest is volunteer effort,” Close says. “[Community Bike Works] could not exist as it does now without volunteers.” Last year, thanks to the adults and children who donated two hours per week to the Earn-a-Bike program, Community Bike Works helped more than 250 children earn their own bicycles and new helmets.

In Whitehall, amid the rush of traffic along MacArthur Road, Peaceable Kingdom is a pet sanctuary providing care and shelter to animals that are lost, injured or abandoned. The nonprofit treats sick, injured and malnourished animals and provides low-cost spaying and neutering, temporary shelter and adoption services. Since 1998 more than 1,500 dogs and cats have been placed in permanent homes. The shelter holds up to a dozen dogs and up to 75 cats.

“We do what we can with what we have,” says Katherine Haberman, volunteer coordinator. She characterizes the ideal volunteer as someone who is outgoing and proactive. “There’s always work to do: dogs to be walked, litter boxes cleaned, laundry washed,” she says, adding that volunteers are also needed for special events, such as Pet Photos with Santa, their holiday fund-raiser held at the nearby Petco store, and their regular adoption events.
Haberman’s typical recruits are at least 16 years old, though younger volunteers are welcome with parent supervision. “There is no minimum time commitment,” says Haberman. “We’re not picky! You can come and go as you please.”

Coming and going is something Karen DeLuca has mastered, alongside her team of volunteers that ebbs and flows all year round. DeLuca is the director of community resources for ArtsQuest, the organization responsible for Musikfest, Christkindlmarkt, First Night Bethlehem, and the Banana Factory arts center. She says that volunteers help the organization run on a daily basis. During Musikfest, the organization’s flagship event, volunteer ranks swell to approximately 2,000 people.

Volunteers are needed year round, says DeLuca, for events such as Christkindlmarkt, a nationally acclaimed holiday market. People are needed to staff the admissions and information booths, gift shop and hospitality area. There’s also First Night Bethlehem, which promotes sobriety and family activities such as a 5K race and street performances on New Year’s Eve. ArtsQuest also offers volunteer opportunities at the Banana Factory in its B-Smart after-school program, where children learn about visual arts and technology, and at the new KidTunes monthly music program for families.

DeLuca characterizes ArtsQuest volunteers—ages 12 and up—as “the backbone” of the organization, and she’s gotten to know many of them through her own hands-on work taking tickets, operating a soda fountain or beer tap, and working in the trenches of an event. She’s also liaison to approximately 50 corporate volunteer groups, who learn teambuilding and other skills in a casual, festive environment.

Recognition is important . . . feeling appreciated is important. [We] celebrate community volunteerism

Each October ArtsQuest hosts a volunteer appreciation party and the Volunteer Center helps organizations that can’t afford to with their Breakfast for Champions, held each April during National Volunteer Month, and their Spirit of Volunteer Awards for Lehigh Valley businesses.

“Recognition is important . . . feeling appreciated is important. [We] celebrate community volunteerism,” says Priscilla Schueck, the CEO of the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley.
But for people like Kathryn Craft, recognition isn’t the reason they continue to plan fund-raisers, sit on boards of directors and brainstorm new and enduring programs.
“There is nothing that bolsters you as much as doing work—paid or unpaid—that is in alignment with your values, and which adds greater meaning to your life,” she says.

ArtsQuest
25 W. Third St.
Bethlehem PA, 18015
610-332-1300
www.artsquest.org

Community Bike Works
235 North Madison Street
Allentown PA 18102
610-434-1140
www.communitybikeworks.org

Peaceable Kingdom
1049 MacArthur Road
Whitehall, PA 18052
610-432-2532
www.peaceablekingdom.info

Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley
2121 City Line Road
Bethlehem, PA 18017-2168
610-807-0336
www.volunteerlv.org

Melanie Gold is an award-winning writer and book editor who enjoys volunteering for Lehigh Valley nonprofit organizations.