College opens up opportunities, and for Pat Schoenen, it opened the door to the wonderful world of volunteering. As a math major at Moravian College, she and her classmates were asked to help children at Donegan Elementary with their math principles. That was the start of many volunteer opportunities for Schoenen. As a senior, she helped with Moravian's Antique Show and continued to volunteer for the next 25 years. She later became involved with the Alumni Board, mentoring women's golf, co-chaired the inauguration of Dr. Rokke, chaired the Annual Fund, co-chaired the Celebration Ball and, this past year, joined the Night of Stars Committee.
Schoenen's passion for volunteering does not end there. She has been volunteering with St. Luke's University Health Network since 1985, rapidly approaching 9,000 hours of service there. Some of her accomplishments at St. Luke's include serving as treasurer, president and chair of the Charity Ball, member of the Board of Trustees for eight years and printing the Auxiliary Cookbook, When You Wish Upon a Star. She started as a volunteer 29 years ago with the Classic on the Green Golf Tournament and has chaired it for the past 19 years. She has also been with St. Luke's gift shop for 29 years.
Schoenen is currently serving as chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and is also on the Executive Committee of Meals on Wheels of Northampton County. “I support all of their activities and believe it is a wonderful agency that supports the needs of its clients,” she says. “I have seen it grow over the years and continue to be amazed on what an impact it has on our community.”
Schoenen is also impressed by all the kind acts that the future generation has been doing, including her grandchildren. “One event that stands out to me and makes me so very proud was when my husband and I were babysitting for some of our grandchildren in Maryland and they wanted to make and sell lemonade and give the proceeds to Meals on Wheels of Northampton County,” she says. “They had such a good feeling about themselves, and a picture of them selling lemonade was included in the next newsletter.”
Along the way, Schoenen has enjoyed making new friends who also share a passion for volunteering. She believes in communities working together as a team in order to accomplish their goals. She says, “We all owe it to give back to the community in which we live to make it a better place.”
