Pamela volunteers in JFS Orlando’s Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry.
Pamela is one of JFS Orlando’s newest volunteers. Originally from Indianapolis, she moved to Florida in 2015 and later to Orlando in 2017 to be closer to her husband’s family. Before retiring, she was a paralegal for 10 years and an insurance adjuster for 30 years. Nowadays she enjoys playing Mahjong, exercising, and volunteering with a few organizations around town—including JFS Orlando!
Looking for a place to volunteer, Pamela reached out to her friends for ideas. “I heard it from Dolores Indek, actually!” she recalls. “I was sitting next to Dolores at a Hadassah meeting and I was telling her that I wanted to find some place to volunteer and she recommended JFS.” Pamela started volunteering at the beginning of 2019, at first helping the Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly (RIDE) program with data entry and later in the spring helping in the Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry. She is ready and willing to help however she can, filling in for any empty shifts that might arise. “I try to get here at least once a week. Just depending on what day they need somebody. This week [for example] I’m working three shifts.”
So far, Pamela has enjoyed giving back to the community and people in need through JFS. One of her favorite things about helping out this summer was seeing the little kids. “You hear them when they walk away,” she explains. “They go, ‘They’re so nice!’ Because sometimes when you have a loose cookie or something, or it’s a hot day and there’s a popsicle, you can give it to a little kid and it just makes their day. It’s just nice!” Having the opportunity to directly help people in need is what makes volunteering at JFS so rewarding for Pamela.
Thank you for your kindness, flexibility, and motivation in all of your volunteering work with JFS Orlando, Pamela! We so appreciate you stepping in for those empty shifts and even helping with that behind-the-scenes office work. Directly or indirectly, your hard work is truly helping the people who come to JFS in need. Thank you!
When you volunteer at JFS Orlando, you’re helping to better your community. Want to be a part of our volunteer team? Several types of opportunities are available. To sign up, contact us at 407-644-7593 ext. 249 or Volunteers@JFSorlando.org.