Meet our Volunteers
Jane
When did you first volunteer with PIN?
July 2020, as a packer for home deliveries. Later on that summer I helped with the logistics of the food box distributions.
How did you find out about us?
I had eaten at Jalsa once pre-pandemic (it was a great experience) and then read the New Yorker's food review, which mentioned Nowshin and Anurag were also running a food pantry.
Why do you choose to volunteer with PIN?
I love how PIN provides support with incredible specificity to community members' needs- it's not just about helping but taking great care in 'how' we help.
Do you have a standout memory from volunteering?
At one of our food box distributions, we lost our forklift operator at the last minute and I ended up driving the forklift on Coney Island Ave to unload the pallets off the truck. I'd previously done it a few times in a warehouse, but an uneven street full of buses, trucks and honking cars is very different!
Jane's PIN POV
"An added bonus of working with PIN is meeting so many lovely neighbors!"
Vincent
When did you first volunteer with PIN?
I started volunteering with PIN early last year during the pandemic. I volunteer to delivery groceries on my bicycle.
How did you find out about us?
I heard about PIN through my neighborhood mutual aide group, Kensington/Windsor Terrace Mutual Aide group, and decided to start volunteering at PIN as well.
Why do you choose to volunteer with PIN?
I am a descendant of immigrants and I was raised by a single mother, so I connect deeply with the mission of PIN. As a born-and-raised New Yorker, I want to help make my city a more equitable, kinder, and loving place to live — for anyone who seeks to call New York their home. I am also a neighborhood resident and believe it’s important that we provide support and positivity for our neighbors, however we can.
Do you have a standout memory from volunteering?
My favorite memory was delivering gifts to children by bicycle during last year’s Ramadan. It was a privilege and beautiful experience. I can’t wait to be a small part of this year’s holiday.
Vincent's PIN POV
"New Yorkers look out for each other. This is how we build strength, solidarity, and community as a people. Let’s seek peace through understanding, and always be good neighbors, however we can."