Volunteer Spotlight: Steven Aftergood
December 8, 2015 by
JPDS-NC’s strength is due, in part, to the dedication of a cadre of talented and energetic parent volunteers. To learn first-hand about what motivates and inspires our volunteers, read the interview with parent Steven Aftergood.
What is your volunteer role?
Steven: I have volunteered with the JPDS-NC Ru’ach Campaign, which raises funds to help cover the school’s operating costs. Asking people to make contributions can sometimes be a challenging thing, but it’s necessary, and most JPDS-NC parents make it pretty easy for the volunteers.
Why volunteer at JPDS-NC-NC?
We all want JPDS-NC to be the best school that it can be, not only for our own kids, but for all the kids in school, and for all the kids who will come along in the future. Volunteering is one way to help make that happen.
What have you gotten out of it?
Working with the JPDS-NC development staff and the other volunteers has been a pleasure. In general, to be an active parent in the school is a great way to discover other people who have similar interests and values.
Favorite or most memorable moment?
One JPDS-NC parent that I approached last year in the Ru’ach Campaign interrupted my fundraising “pitch” and cheerfully told me to name the amount I wanted to ask for, and then he agreed to donate that amount. What made it memorable was not just his generosity—which fortunately is not uncommon– but also his intuitive grasp of the situation that I was in. He knew that I was asking on behalf of the school, not for myself, and he wanted to make it as simple for me as possible. I still think about that. I hope I would do the same if our roles were reversed.
How has it impacted your family?
My wife Kimberly is a JPDS-NC Board member, a former Ru’ach Campaign Chair, and she also volunteers in various other ways. So JPDS-NC has become sort of a focal point for our family, with all of us involved in the school on some level.
Tell us a little about your family (work, kids, neighborhood).
Our son Lincoln is a 6th grader at JPDS-NC, where he has been since Kindergarten. I work for a non-profit on promoting public access to government information and reducing official secrecy. We live in American University Park and we belong to Adas Israel Congregation.
Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
In the late 1970s I lived in Israel for three years.
