Around this time of year, the staff at LPCS say goodbye to familiar faces, and welcome new ones. LPCS, like many other non-profit agencies, utilize various volunteer service corps to fill certain positions (such as AmeriCorps, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, etc.). Working with these groups is a wonderful experience both for LPCS and the volunteer. Volunteers bring with them a fresh perspective and wonderful ideas. For the volunteer, they get to learn or improve a new set of skills. So this fall, as we get ready to say goodbye to Julia Weegar, our Volunteer Coordinator and AmeriCrops*VISTA for the past year, we welcome Elli Krandel who will be taking over Julia's role as Volunteer Coordinator. So, in her own words, is a little bit about Elli!
AVODAH is a year-long service program for people in their 20s combining work at non-profit agencies with pluralistic Jewish learning and living, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.
I have always been interested in various social justice issues. In college, I was the treasurer for an organization called Challah for Hunger, which sells challah, a traditional Jewish bread, to raise money for various non-profit organizations. When I found AVODAH, I was really excited about the opportunity to explore my passion for anti-poverty work, while continuing to investigate the connection between Judaism and social justice work. I was equally excited when I saw the opportunity to work at LPCS. I think the work the shelter does is incredible, and I cannot wait to do my part to help the organization continue providing vital services to the community.