Jessica Herstein, Assistant Director, Financial Management Office
I’ve been involved in the New York City HIV/AIDS community for the last 25 years. Growing up in the 1980s, HIV was a scary disease and there was a major stigma surrounding it. One afternoon, my mother stopped by the Housing Works Thrift Shop in Chelsea and took home a pamphlet for me detailing volunteering opportunities at the store. She suggested I volunteer on weekends to keep myself busy because of my tendency to sit on my couch and watch a lot of TV (still a thing !). At that time, I had never met anyone (knowingly) with the virus and being a naive 15-year-old, I was a little afraid, admittedly, to volunteer with someone who had it. Unfortunately, I was not alone in my ignorance as a teenager and am so grateful my mother took home the pamphlet that day. Volunteering at Housing Works side-by-side with clients who were positive, made me realize my folly and naive ignorance. I was taken in with open arms and made amazing friends. I volunteered there for two years every Sunday taking donations that were sold in the shop and raised money for the organization. When I turned 17, I needed to get a paying job and didn’t return back to volunteering until I was 25.
I knew HIV/AIDS awareness was a passion of mine and split my time volunteering with LifeBeat and God’s Love We Deliver. At LifeBeat, volunteers attend concerts and educate young people on protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. God’s Love We Deliver cooks fresh meals in their Soho kitchen and feeds home-bound sick clients (and their dependents) who cannot take care of their own nutritional needs. 
I volunteered with God’s Love We Deliver every Sunday in their kitchen for three years chopping fresh vegetables that were used in healthy soups and entrees. I delivered food to recipients’ homes and saw how grateful they were to have visitors and a healthy meal tailored to their conditions. Attached is a photo from the meal prep line on Thanksgiving Eve.
This organization is extremely close to my heart and I can’t say enough about how much good they do. I’ve met some of my favorite people volunteering and feel it’s become a huge part of me.
