Meet Pinny Margolius, The Salvation Army of Central Maryland’s Volunteer of The Year
Out of over 5,000 volunteers this year, The Salvation Army of Central Maryland selected Pinchas “Pinny” Margolius as our volunteer of the year at our Annual Volunteer Luncheon this year. His hard work with our Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which is a federal assistance program that aims to improve the health and nutrition of low-income elderly individuals by providing a monthly package of nutritious USDA foods, ensured thousands of seniors in Baltimore City are provided an ample supply of food. Not only that but his tireless efforts volunteering with our FeedMore, mobile canteen has expanded our reach with street homeless in need of food and human interaction.
Volunteers, like Pinny, are vital in combating hunger because they provide essential resources, support and awareness to The Salvation Army’s feeding programs. Their contributions help ensure that nutritious food reaches those in need, making a positive difference in the fight against hunger and improving the well-being of vulnerable populations.
Pinny, 29 years old, who worked in the Special Education field for 8 years, discovered this volunteer opportunity online one day. “Once I left the education field, I felt a hole inside of me for not contributing to the community. I looked up volunteer opportunities online and found an Eventbrite listing for packing groceries for low income seniors,” said Pinny. “I pursued this volunteer opportunity because it was active. I also like to do warehouse work too.”
What started as volunteering for one Saturday morning, ended up turning into days, weeks, months years.
“When I first started volunteering for The Salvation Army, I noticed there was so much work to do. In comparison to other organizations, volunteering with The Army means you will be at work versus staring idly around, “said Pinny. “At the warehouse, there is always a place to help out.” Kenny, the former warehouse manager, told Pinny how much food was going out on his first day. Pinny worked with a team of 60-80 volunteers who packed 20 pallets (600 boxes of groceries), that directly fed 600 food insecure seniors.
Whenever Pinny volunteers at the CSFP warehouse, he comes across different organizations and different schools from Baltimore City. “The other day we had WBAL and 98 Rock volunteer one Saturday morning, another day Under Armour volunteered. You may not know this, but we tend to get a ton of college groups and alumni groups volunteer from Morgan state, UMBC, and Towson which is where I went to college.”
Pinny is originally from Israel, but his family moved to Baltimore City when he was a young boy. Growing up most of his life in Baltimore, he has seen people suffer from food insecurity in different parts of town.
“You see people living in poverty who just cannot afford to survive at times,” said Pinny. “What’s great about the CSFP program is that we deliver food to people who need food. Another great program is The Salvation Army’s FeedMore, mobile canteen program. I help Luther prepare meals and feed the street homeless in East Baltimore.”
What Pinny has observed about the street homeless is that several of them have been veterans, and he knew they were veterans because of hats and special dog tags that were worn. “I’ve always had interesting conversations with veterans, learning about where they served and their experiences. It’s unfortunate and sad to see so many veterans in that situation. But it really does show you, how vulnerable we all are in,” said Pinny. “All it takes is one unfortunate situation in life, and you can be homeless or in need of help.”
Pinny believes empathy is important and by volunteering you can expand upon that. He also believes millennials, Gen Z, and future generations should volunteer, especially with The Salvation Army of Central Maryland.
“The Salvation Army of Central Maryland has a lot of volunteering opportunities. They have so many programs and opportunities to get involved. If you have the desire to contribute in your community, you can volunteer for The Salvation Army whenever.”
Are you interested in volunteering for The Salvation Army’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program? Do you want to help Luther feed the street homeless in East Baltimore with our FeedMore, mobile canteen? E-mail our Volunteer Coordinator, Samantha Bowman at [email protected]