Henry Lehrich Honored as JFS Volunteer of the Year

Henry Lehrich, M.D., was honored as Volunteer of the Year at Jewish Family Service’s volunteer recognition luncheon at our agency on April 4.  

A Lehigh Valley native, Henry grew up in Bethlehem, one of three sons of Arthur and Betty Perkin Lehrich.  “My parents set a wonderful example for me and my brothers to help others less fortunate,” Henry says.

After two years in the United States Public Health Service in San Pedro, California, Henry and his wife, Susan, returned to the Lehigh Valley, where he did his residency at Allentown Hospital and started his family medicine practice in 1966.   In the 1970s and 80s, he was active at Congregation Keneseth Israel and in the Drug and Alcohol Council in Allentown.  He retired from medicine in 1997 and entered the world of selling books and antiques on the Internet, pursing a passionate avocation.  

Henry’s current involvement with JFS began in September 2008.  The nation’s financial crisis weighed heavily on Henry’s mind.  A sermon by Rabbi Robert Lennick of Congregation Keneseth Israel inspired Henry to respond to these concerns.  The rabbi told the congregation to stop feeling sorry for themselves, do mitzvot and study the Torah.  Two days later, Henry called JFS to become a volunteer.   

As a JFS volunteer, Henry drives people without transportation to medical appointments and shopping and has helped with JFS office work. 

Although Henry began volunteering on a regular basis at JFS almost three years ago, he actually has a much longer history with our agency.  He served on the original JFS board nearly forty years ago, and again served on the board in the 1990s.  His wife, Susan, worked for JFS in the 1980s, before starting her own practice, and she fondly recalls her clinical work with the Jewish geriatric population. 

“I have a special place in my heart for this organization,” Henry says.

Henry’s children continue the tradition of being active in their Jewish communities—Attorney Tom Lehrich and his wife, Attorney Deb Cohen Lehrich, in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Deb Lehrich, in Bethesda, Maryland; and Darren and his wife, Ellen, in Summit, New Jersey.  Henry and Susan Lehrich also have eight grandchildren.

“Henry is hardworking and ready to go the extra mile,” says Cooky Notis, volunteer and senior services co-coordinator.  “He is warm and caring.” 

“In my opinion,” Henry says, “connecting to people in a helpful way is the most significant way of living in this world.”

We thank Henry for his significant and helpful work at JFS. 

Outstanding Local Students Receive 2011 Scholarships

Jewish Family Service is pleased to announce that two outstanding young members of our community have received scholarships for the coming school year. 

Shoshanna Goldin has won the Martin Philip Memorial Scholarship, established through the bequest of the late Martin Philip, an attorney in Palmerton.  The survivor of a brain tumor, Shoshanna decided to turn her medical experience into community service leadership, and she works hard to improve children’s lives. To this end, she helped raise funds and served as a spokesperson for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (where she was treated) and the Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and bettering the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals.

In addition, she founded her own non-profit organization, Pretzels for People, which has donated $3,000 for international aid.  The twenty volunteers she trains and supervises make chocolate pretzels, which they sell to raise charitable funds.  So far, they have sponsored a child’s education in northern Uganda and purchased dozens of solar cookers for refugees in Darfur. 

At her high school, Moravian Academy, Shoshanna participated in the International Club, the Red Cross and other activities.  She put together an exhibit on female education in early America for the Moravian Historical Society and took part in a White House science fair. 

A member of Congregation Brith Sholom, Shoshanna taught K-3rd grade junior congregation and is a past-president of the synagogue’s USY group and has volunteered for many fundraising and community events. 

Somehow Shoshanna has also found time to volunteer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the College Board.  She went to India as a youth ambassador in a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. 

In 2010, Shoshanna received the 2010 U.S. Presidential Gold Award for completing 800 hours of community service.  The National Association of Secondary School Principals chose her as the recipient of the 2011 Prudential Spirit of Community Award.  Her accomplishments have been recounted in national media, especially when she was awarded top prize in the 2010 Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition for her research on the effects of energy drinks.   

She is now looking forward to attending Wake Forest University, where she will major in global health and neuroscience and minor in entrepreneurship.  Helping reinvigorate the campus’s Hillel is another of Shoshanna’s goals. 

“I am so honored by the Martin Philip Award,” she says.  “And I will always be active in the Jewish community.” 

Stephanie Goldberg, this year’s recipient of the Gaines Family Foundation Prize in Engineering, has excelled in numerous academic, athletic and community endeavors. 

A graduate of Parkland High School, she has served on the Student Senate, Student Council, Welcome Pack, National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and  National Math Honor Society.  She has also been active in the Future Energy Career Club, and the Agricultural Club.  She graduated near the top of a class of 775. 

Her career interests began when she decided to be an architect at the age of six, inspired by an uncle who was in that field.  Later, she realized that her true direction was engineering.  She aspires to be a mechanical and aerospace engineer.  Special areas of interest in engineering include product design and optimization of products.  She strives to be an entrepreneur.  

“I love that engineering is tied to infinite facets of life and business and that it coincides with my personal philosophy of always wanting to do better,” she says. 

At Parkland, she has already taken significant steps toward her goal by participating in Project Lead the Way, a 4-year program in which students can take engineering courses for college credit. 

She has used her knowledge and passion for science as a volunteer exhibit educator at the Da Vinci Science Center.  At school, she volunteered in dozens of projects, including the Angel 34 Walk for Hope, student tutoring, the engineering team, Parkland World Elementary World Language Experience, and more.  She has been a counselor at the JCC summer camp. 

Stephanie loves field hockey, and in addition playing soccer, she plays for the Pennsylvania Keystone Stoners, a semi-professional hockey team.  She was chosen to play soccer at the Olympic level at the age of twelve and later, for the Olympic pipeline in field hockey. 

Stephanie will be attending Princeton University, where she will major in mechanical and aerospace engineering and compete in the university’s Division I field hockey team. 

“I am very appreciative of the scholarship,” Stephanie says.  “And I hope to make the Gaines family proud.  Hopefully, I will be able to something similar, in regards to offering scholarship opportunities, in the future.”