Ron Segel, a familiar face at Jewish Family Service over the years, has begun volunteering at the Food Pantry, where he interacts with clients and helps them make food choices. His favorite part of the job is meeting new clients and ensuring they get the food they want for the upcoming month; he also assists in carrying donations to the pantry and stocking the shelves.

In addition to his work at the pantry, Ron has also driven seniors to doctors’ appointments and other important places through The GO Program, and he has also served on JFS’s board. Ron also volunteers at the Lehigh Valley Hospital on 17th Street in the children’s clinic with a program called Reach Out and Read, where he reads to children receiving treatment at the clinic.

Ron learned about his new volunteering opportunity from Beth Healy, JFS’s volunteer coordinator. “I was looking for something to do with JFS, came in, spoke to Beth, and she gave me a few options,” he said of the new process. All new JFS volunteers now complete a short volunteer training session; in his session, Ron learned more about each option and then chose to volunteer at the Food Pantry.

“The Food Pantry is a very worthwhile part of this organization, and I enjoy” building relationships with clients, Ron said. In the past month, he has come to realize that this volunteering is “a meaningful thing to do,” and looks forward to continuing his involvement in the future.