Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Volunteering is such a personal and generous gift, and everyone has different reasons for doing it. Shirley Schoenberger is a very active volunteer with the Jewish Pavilion, and she knows this from her own experiences.

Schoenberger - along with her husband, Peter, and their three daughters, Tracey, Debbie, and Lisa - relocated to central Florida from Ohio in 1992. There they had owned and operated their own personal clothing store, Havers, in the small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It's very close to Cleveland. While her oldest had already graduated, her youngest two finished high school here at Dr. Phillips. And she got back into the retail business in small a shop in Winter Park.

Schoenberger wasn't new to voluntering when she came to central Florida. She had volunteered with a local hospital in Ohio. She also volunteered with the Junior League. When she got to the Orlando area she did some volunteer work with the Orlando Museum of Art. Then she discovered the Jewish Pavilion, where she became known as the "Bim Bam Girl" because she sings to her seniors. She has them sing along and they actually have to raise their hands. It gets them involved and it brings out Schoenberger's inner cheerleader. She loves hearing Yiddish and being able to converse with the seniors in Yiddish because it reminds her of her childhood. They spoke Yiddish at home. She only knows a few words in Polish. When her parents didn't want her and her siblings to know what they were talking about they spoke Polish. It was their secret code.

Schoenberger has been with the Jewish Pavilion for a while, and when asked why she volunteers, she said that she gets back so much more than she gives. That's saying something since she makes so many people smile just by walking in the room. But for Schoenberger being around the seniors means so much to her because she grew up without grandparents. Her parents were Holocaust survivors from Poland.

Schoenberger shared that her parents met in the Benzin Ghetto, got married in the ghetto, were separated during the war, and found each other after the war. Her father was hidden during the war while her mother ended up in work camps; losing three of her seven siblings. Growing up, Schoenberger was involved with second generation Shoah in her area and it was a safe place for her and others to share what they were going through with their survivor parents.

Schoenberger is helping the Jewish Pavilion to stay true to its mission by making weekly phone calls. She loves her seniors and is finding that more and more, through her weekly conversations, that the pandemic is taking its toll on them. Just imagine being in one room, having your meals delivered to you in your room, and not being able to get out and social.

Schoenberger is really missing being able to hug her seniors and give them the physical and social contact that they need and crave. She's a self-proclaimed hugger and feels that her fellow volunteers are so compassionate and caring that it creates a sense of family. She misses the Shabbat services and has come to realize that the services were more than camaraderie for the residents. Being able to stay connect to their culture and traditions is a challenge.

The one thing that Schoenberger is the happiest about is how close she has become with her grandchildren. They are talking more and sharing more with her. She has become their confidant and she loves it. While she was recovering from foot surgery, she let her grandson have her car for those six weeks. "How awesome is that!" she says with a smile on her face.