Patio Pals Hadas Yeshayahu and Avigail. Courtesy: Shalom Austin

By Allison Teegardin

Hadas Yeshayahu has been a volunteer with Shalom Austin for approximately one and a half years. She first became involved when she moved to Austin from San Francisco where she was very active in the Jewish community there. She wanted to meet people and get involved with the Austin Jewish community, so she turned to Shalom Austin to help. “There were so many opportunities that it was easy to get involved,” Yeshayahu said.

Yeshayahu signed up to be a Patio Pal, a volunteer program that matches volunteers with adults ages 60 and older who are in need of social visits. After an extensive interview process with Joan Eisenberg Maniere, Shalom Austin’s volunteer & community experience director, Yeshayahu was matched with Avigail. “I didn’t expect to have such a close connection so fast,” Yeshayahu said about her patio pal. “Making these connections is meaningful for both of us.” What is more, the two had more in common than they realized.

“When I came to meet Avigail the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Yeshayahu said. “Then, when she spoke, her dialect reminded me of my grandmother.” As both women are from Yemen, they immediately began sharing about their home. By their third visit, the women began to cook and share Yemeni recipes together as well. “Here I am in Texas and suddenly someone is asking me how to make kubaneh. I learned the recipe from my grandma and it was amazing to share it with Avigail,” Yeshayahu said.

Yeshayahu knows her visits with Avigail are making a difference. She says that Avigail is always smiling when Yeshayahu arrives and tells her how much these visits mean to her. Not only has the experience provided tremendous benefits to Avigail, Yeshayahu says the experience is perfect for her as well. “I was still lonely moving to a new town even though my husband is here too. I wanted to build community and my connection with Avigail has benefited me a lot.”

Shalom Austin currently has hundreds of volunteers who participate in a myriad of ways from outreach to support care services with Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service to working with affinity groups such as the Young Adult Division, Women’s Philanthropy and Adults 60+. And as word spreads about Shalom Austin’s programs and services, the demand for more volunteers is increasing to meet those needs. “One of the most rewarding experiences of working with the volunteer program is helping people connect and create community,” Eisenberg Maniere said. “There is a strong social component to volunteering and many volunteers build relationships with each other which extends beyond the program.”

To learn more about ways to get involved and volunteer with Shalom Austin, visit shalomaustin.org/volunteer