The mission of CivMix has been built on giving community voices and news a platform. From the daily “Rise and Shine” updates to our “CivMix Voices” blog, we want to make sure that you know not only what is happening in the #518 but also meet some of the individuals that are involved and invested in our great community. Contributor Alyssa Lotmore will be highlighting some of those individuals in our new “CivMixer Spotlight” series.
CivMixer Spotlight: Jonathan Hentrich
From playing a game of giant chess in the fun zone at Lark Fest to bringing kids to the community-based Love Albany Easter Egg Hunt, Serve Albany is extremely involved in the Capital Region. Many of the ideas for these free community events, as well as the organization of the volunteers, is led by Christ’s Church Albany Lead Pastor, Jonathan Hentrich.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you chose to become so involved in the Albany community?
A: I moved to the Capital District in 2002 after graduating from college. I initially got an apartment in Guilderland and started working for a church that was also in Guilderland.
Guilderland was fine, but we loved Albany!
Whenever we could, my wife and I were heading to Albany to eat and spend time with friends. So when buying our first house in 2009, we moved into the city. Our first summer in Albany, we became involved with our neighborhood association and multiple nonprofits. One of my good friends, Tony Iadicicco (Albany Center Gallery) suggested I join the Stakeholders Institute, which was a multi-month introduction to all kinds of amazing nonprofits and leaders in our city.
Soon a gap became obvious. On the one side there were all these great projects and organizations who were desperately looking for volunteers; on the other were so many of our many friends and neighbors looking be a part of something bigger and to live a significant story. I thought there needed to be a way to connect folks with those organizations so they could experience what I have – that serving and volunteering is the best way to live.
Q: What exactly is Serve Albany?
A: After a few years of living in Albany, some friends and I decided to start a church. By a church we don’t mean a building, but a group of people who are committed to loving Jesus, Each Other, and The World. I truly believe a group living out those values can change the world! But living this way requires intention, work and help.
Serve Albany is a tool to help people love and serve the world around them, with the emphasis on making it as easy as possible to serve and volunteer in the city of Albany. We do this in several ways. The first is to frequently bring together nonprofits so they can learn what is being done by others and discuss ways to work better together. This spring we have hosted networking brunches for nonprofits covering topics such as education, arts, gun violence, health & COVID, and the need for more brown and black volunteers.
Secondly and equally important, we work to help volunteers find out about places to serve. The biggest tool for this connection is the Serve Albany Facebook group where nonprofits share volunteer opportunities.
Q: What are ways that community members can become involved?
A: If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity you should regularly check, share, and like posts on the Serve Albany Facebook page. By joining this social community you can both find opportunities for yourself and maybe help someone else find their great place to serve!
If you are connected with a nonprofit and know of opportunities, we encourage you to share your opportunities.
Q: Why do you feel it is important for people to volunteer?
A: We all want to live significant stories. A lot of people complain they live boring lives– we wake up, go to work, order in some food, watch Netflix, and then repeat… But we are created for so much more! Each of has talent, stories, and resources that can make a big difference in our world. We have the chance to make improvements in the lives of others and in our city.
But it’s not always easy. Serving requires sacrificing and putting others ahead of yourself. The surprising thing is that the path to a really joyful life is not through selfishness, greed, or even comfort –serving and love are that path.
Q: What are three things that you love about Albany and/or the Capital Region?
A: I love our community in Albany. There are so many groups and people who want to work together.
I love the wide diversity. I love that when my kids go to school or we shop at Price Chopper there are people there with such varied lives and stories.
I love all of our parks, paths, and sidewalks that make Albany walk/runnable.
