Volunteers plant seeds
of change at NORC

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Youth group members at Redemption Lutheran Church don’t reach out to local seniors by visiting retirement communities.
These days, the seniors in their Rhawnhurst neighborhood are living more active lives — at home.
That’s why the more than two dozen junior and senior youth group members from the church, at Bustleton Avenue and Rhawn Street, help out with the Rhawnhurst Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC).
NORC, sponsored by United Way, Catholic Human Services and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, aims to help seniors remain independent in their homes.
"It’s a neat relationship to be having," said Cheryl Esposito, 28, youth minister at Redemption. "And I think it’s going to grow."
The children rake leaves in the fall, bake cookies and make cards in the winter. This week, they will plant seeds and deliver more greetings for the Easter and Passover holidays.
The tasks the youth members volunteer for may not be as laborious as cleaning gutters or winterizing windows — volunteers from Orleans Technical Institute help with that — but they are meaningful, NORC officials say.
The gestures delight the seniors who live alone or don’t see their relatives often. The efforts help "make Rhawnhurst a real community for all ages," according to Elaine Griffin, NORC’s project coordinator.
"The Redemption Lutheran Youth Group are fantastic volunteers. Whether it’s raking leaves or baking holiday cookies for their aging neighbors, these kids are enthusiastic workers," she said.
The Rhawnhurst NORC also partners with other church youth groups in the area, such as Rhawnhurst Presbyterian Church, which also helped with last fall’s leaf-raking.
Mary Bareis, 74, said her husband used to handle leaf-raking and other chores before he died a year and a half ago. The youth workers who raked her yard last fall did as good a job, she said.
"The place couldn’t have been any better if I had been there directing them," Bareis said. "I had a good experience with them."
The relationship means as much to Redemption youth group members, who in previous years kept most of their service to within the church community.
"It felt good. It needs to be done," Ryan Duff, 14, said of the volunteer work.
Congregant Kim Becker, who heads the junior youth group, said it’s important for the church to reach out to the surrounding community. "There are so many organizations that take care of the world that we forget about the local community," she said. "We’re letting (local seniors) know they’re not forgotten."
The church’s recent outreach efforts, which in the past have included volunteering with the food assistance groups Aid for Friends and Meals on Wheels, are commendable given the fact that their pastor, Mary Konopka, is on sick leave.
Lay-people from the roughly 200-member congregation have stepped up to keep the church moving forward, Esposito said.
They recently began a post-secondary school youth group to keep maturing congregants involved with the church. And their other youth groups, which include two for younger grade-school children, have been growing because members are so enthusiastic, they’re getting friends from outside the church to join.
"I’ll tell my friends stories about church and then they’ll want to come," said Samantha D’Adamo, 12.
For Esposito, part of the mission of the youth group involves helping young people flourish — and have fun — in a healthy setting.
"It’s creating a safe place where kids can be kids," she said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com