Volunteer Stories
Meet Dr. David Barnes
Dr. David Barnes – or “Dr. Dave” as he is known by the guests who meet him during the House’s Tuesday Breakfasts – has spent most of his adult life in the world of transplant. As a retired hepatologist at the Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center, he knows the challenges faced by transplant families. When he…
Read MoreMeet Elijah Brown
We are very lucky to have so many wonderful institutions as neighbors in University Circle. A number of our volunteers are Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) students. Elijah is a third-year undergraduate Case student double majoring in Nutritional Biochemistry and Evolutionary Biology. Elijah came to Cleveland all the way from South Carolina to study at CWRU.…
Read MoreMeet Fred Lee
We are very lucky to have so many wonderful institutions as neighbors in University Circle. A number of our volunteers are Case Western Reserve University students. Fred, who just completed his first year at CWRU, is interested in studying Statistics and International Studies. Fred first heard about Transplant House because of his interest in Cleveland’s…
Read MoreMeet Izzy Baerlang
Izzy is a junior at Case Western Reserve studying nursing. She has been volunteering around the House since her Sophomore year. Izzy remembers that she first learned about Transplant House because she passed it on her way to campus every day as a CWRU sophomore. Curious, she looked THoC up online. “Immediately when I read…
Read MoreMeet the Volunteers of The Temple Tifereth Israel
This past February marked the fifth anniversary of The Temple Tifereth Israel’s involvement with Transplant House. As Transplant House grew, adding a second building of apartments in 2017 and a community and office space in 2019, and adapted to the challenges of the pandemic, the Temple’s support for our guests and for our organization has…
Read MoreMeet Judith Wolkoff
How many celebrations with family and friends have you planned for and participated in over the last two months? How many full meals have you enjoyed in the company of many? How many nights have you laid down in your own bed at home, thankful for the abundance of blessings and rich traditions shared with…
Read MoreMeet Anne Smith
There are some people who seem as though they’ve been with us always; maybe not on “Day One” precisely, but here in the spirit of the place before the furniture arrived, waiting to take their seat and do their special work. Anne Smith is just such a person—an “early arrival” as one of our first…
Read MoreMeet Harlan Meinwald
Volunteer Harlan Meinwald is always eager to talk about cooking. Soft-spoken, radiating calm and kindness, Harlan has prepared fresh and healthy meals for Transplant House’s community dinners monthly (and sometimes more frequently, by stepping in to help when others are unable to bring food) since 2018. Without fanfare, but with much care and creativity, Harlan…
Read More