Blog
Meet Neighborhood Coordinator Claire Zwaryczuk
PORCH is fortunate to count many high school students among its roster of volunteers.
Even better? When the high schoolers graduate and head off to pursue college courses or the beginnings of their careers, they often recruit another high schooler to step into their volunteer shoes, beginning the cycle anew.
Such is the case with Sydney Lin and Claire Zwaryczuk. Sydney was the Neighborhood Coordinator for Lake Hogan Farms Circle – a vital role that has been inherited by Claire.
More than 125 Neighborhood Coordinators organize monthly food collections for a neighborhood or street. They are responsible for spreading the word about the designated day for the monthly food drives, picking up donations from nearby porches, and getting the non-perishable bags of food to a central location so that PORCH can distribute it.
Claire is a freshman at Chapel Hill High School who was set up for success by Sydney, who passed along her communications structure so that neighbors can be notified by email about upcoming PORCH collection dates.
Right now, only a handful of neighbors (out of about 20 homes in Lake Hogan Farms Circle) are giving non-perishable food each month, but Claire has plans to post to Next Door and distribute some printed marketing materials to generate more buzz.
Claire credits her grandmother as well as her soccer coach with inspiring her to give back.
“My grandma always encouraged me to be super generous, and my soccer coach also really values community service. She has us do one community service project every year. I’ve always loved giving back to my community,” says Claire.
Her grandmother works at Second Bloom Thrift Shop, with proceeds benefitting victims of domestic violence.
Claire hopes to make the high school soccer team – she has played the sport since was 5. Her family – which includes a sister who is a college freshman at Appalachian State as well as a beloved dog, Wilson – has lived in Chapel Hill since Claire was 4. She enjoys academics and is being challenged by a computer science class this semester. She is also interested in French, as a language and a culture.
She loves that PORCH’s impact can be immediately felt by volunteers, donors, and participants.
“It’s so local,” Claire says. “You can see – especially with the new physical space – the direct influence of what you’re giving to people. And you know it’s not getting handled by 15 people before it gets in the [family’s] hands.”
We are currently seeking Neighborhood Coordinators in communities all around Chapel Hill and Carrboro. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a Neighborhood Coordinator, would you or someone you know want to help fill this role? This is a great leadership opportunity for students! Prospective NCs can reach out to us at chc@porchcommunities.org. You can pass along the link to our Neighborhood Coordinator information page, which gets into the nuts and bolts of what NCs do; it includes this very handy video.