Beyond grades or the next school dance, Asher Belfer, 17, had a different concern.
After years of helping out at The Dorit & Ben J. Genet Cupboard, a Goodman JFS program that helps the food insecure in Broward County, Belfer noticed that volunteers faced common problems, such as scheduling and delivery issues.
So the Cooper City teen set out to fix them.
He created VolunHelp, a software program that streamlines volunteer processes and helps make the Cupboard more efficient, allowing them to assist those in need more accurately.
On Oct. 22, Belfer will take his passion for the Cupboard a step further — he and his family will be co-hosting the Feed the Need Fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie to raise money for the program.
We spoke with Belfer to learn more about VolunHelp and his plans for the future, which include the creation of an app. The interview had been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How did you start volunteering with Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County?
A: I started volunteering with my parents, driving food to clients when I was 12 years old. When I was in eighth grade, I started in the warehouse, packing bags, putting them into cars and making sure the right food got to the right people. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past four years now.
Q: What inspired you to create VolunHelp?
A: I had been volunteering for a while and noticed all the coordination it takes. To coordinate any food delivery event, you need to get hundreds of volunteers to get 350 meals out to 1,100 individuals every single month. I felt like there was something that could be done to help with that. At the same time, I was taking a computer science course at David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie and I realized I could use what I was learning to benefit the Cupboard.
Q: You said that you noticed inefficiencies in the volunteer processes. What were they?
A: The main thing I noticed was the multiple different places any individual at the Cupboard had to go to to do the most simple things, like changing an address. There were many times that the address was incorrect or the gate code was wrong, but the volunteer had to go through four or five different steps to get that changed. So when a volunteer would go to the same place the following month, the information was still incorrect. Nothing was as centralized as I thought it could have been, and that was the main thing I tried to address with the creation of VolunHelp.
Q: Can you share more about VolunHelp?
A: It’s a software where the Cupboard can create all their events and, within those events, they can add clients and invite volunteers. Because they can do that in one place, everything is all connected. You can see which clients are receiving food each month and which volunteers are signed up and confirmed to deliver that food. In the past, you had to send an email out to each individual volunteer and log their response manually. Now, it is all recorded automatically.
I came up with the idea of VolunHelp, met with the people at the Cupboard, and designed the software. My dad, who works in technology, along with a bit of outsourcing, helped with the coding aspect. The support I got from the people at the Cupboard motivated me to want to continue to make this a reality and it couldn’t have happened without them.
Q: How do you feel VolunHelp has changed JFS?
A: It has allowed JFS to be more efficient with their time, making everyone’s jobs easier so they can spend more time focusing on other things. They don’t have to worry about an address change or that they logged volunteers; it’s very easy to track all that and they can spend their time raising money and making sure they have enough food. It’s allowed them to be more accurate too and ensure that volunteers are in the right place.
Q: What are your future plans for VolunHelp?
A: Right now, it mainly benefits the people who work at the Cupboard. Next, I am going to build an app for the volunteers to make things easier for them as well. The app will host all the events they can choose to volunteer for and allow them to RSVP right from their phone. Volunteers will also be able to easily communicate notes about locations, like if there are carts under the stairs to help transport the food, or information about the gate or specific directions.
For Holocaust survivors, Goodman JFS also has to prove they made the deliveries and the recipient received those deliveries, causing a lot of paperwork. Through the app, I hope to streamline this process and let the clients sign via the app, creating one printable PDF.
Q: What is the Feed the Need Fundraiser?
A: It’s a really big event and I’m very excited to be co-chairing it with my family. We know the Cupboard in and out and it’s really cool to be able to go from helping out to being a part of making sure they get the money they need. All the money raised goes directly to the Cupboard.
Q: Why is philanthropy important to you at such a young age?
A: I always loved giving back. I really love helping other people. I feel that if you’re in a position to help others and you are able to do something for someone else, you should. I feel I am in that position and I want to take advantage of that and do what I can to help people with the Cupboard and those who need their services.
Q: How do you feel growing up with Judaism has inspired your desire to help?
A: It’s given me a huge sense of community. Judaism has impacted the schools I go to and the organizations I volunteer at and, because of that, it’s given me a community, like the one at the Cupboard and at my school. It just makes sense for me to want to give back to the Jewish community through JFS and through VolunHelp.
Q: Do you plan to continue working with JFS or other philanthropies beyond high school?
A: I don’t see myself ever leaving JFS or the Cupboard even after I graduate and go off to college. I want to continue to be involved with the Cupboard and JFS and to help other organizations through my career, and if I can, through my own personal contributions as well.
For more information about The Dorit & Ben J. Genet Cupboard, visit jfsbroward.org/services/cupboard.
