Voice of a Volunteer: Joel
Joel knew he could get a nutritious lunch at the soup kitchen, but he ended up got with so much more that he decided to give back. As he came to rely on us, he saw how others were helped by our counselors, he heard of people finding jobs and housing. So when he had lined up an interview for a job this past August and didn’t have any suitable clothes to wear, he asked our counselors for help.
“They helped me out so much,” Joel recalls. “They gave me this nice shirt, khaki pants, shoes. I looked really smart and I got hired!”
Today Joel works for AM New York but he hasn’t forgotten the soup kitchen and he comes here to volunteer and give back as often as he can. His experience over the past year has motivated him to build on his skills and work towards a more stable career. Next year he has plans to go to Hunter College to study accounting and finance.
“I’m turning things around,” Joel says. “I’m reading a lot online about succeeding in business, about needing to be focused and make sacrifices. Coming here and volunteering helps me learn to put these things into practice.”
