Marilynn Weintraub
Ruth Rales Jewish Family
Marilynn Weintraub “gets inspired” from being a volunteer and has enjoyed the 12 years of being a friendly visitor to the homebound elderly who are clients of Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service of South Palm Beach County. She said, “I am motivated to volunteer because I am a very lucky woman, and now I have the time to give back and help other people. People who dont volunteer are missing out.”
Weintraub is so happy with her volunteer experiences that she recently arranged a volunteer fair at Boca Pointe; inviting two dozen nonprofits and attracting 200 of her neighbors. Dozens of them offered their services.
“It’s a wonderful idea, and I’m hoping it spreads in Boca Raton and Delray Beach,” said Dr. Jaclynn Faffer, executive director of Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service. “Volunteering is a win-win situation, it feels good to help others.”
Weintraub added, “When I first volunteered for Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, I was a parachaplain, and I visited patients in the hospital. I talked to them and comforted them.”
Since then, she began visiting the residents of Heartland of Boca Raton, an assisted-living and nursing home.
“I conduct a Story Circle for both long-term and rehab patients,” she said. Weintraub visits the patients of Heartland, both long-term and rehab, and helps them share memories and life experiences.”
She said, “We talk about different topics and reminisce. People forget when they see someone in a wheelchair thats old and infirm that once upon a time they had a life.”
The former New York City school teacher moved to Boca Raton with her husband, Leonard, who also volunteers for local charities. The couple moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey, in 1975 and have a grown son and daughter, who are both attorneys.
“Im so glad to be a volunteer at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service. It is interesting and very fulfilling.”
