Celena Ritchey is Sparking a Passion for Volunteering

For this Profile, we’re doing a spotlight on someone in our network—Celena Ritchey! She’s the Peer Connector and Senior Program Associate at Repair the World, an organization based around service and tikkun olam. As a Peer Connector, she takes people to coffee (just like the Gather team) and loves getting to know community members throughout the Bay Area. Based in San Francisco, Celena is the person to reach out to if you’ve got questions about volunteering and service, where the vibey spots are in the city, and so much more.

We chatted over Zoom about her role as a Peer Connector, how she found her way to Repair the World, and some hidden gems in San Francisco. Curious to get to know Celena? You can reach out to her directly if you want to chat over coffee or tea.

Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you find your way to working at Repair the World?

I have a long history with Repair the World—there have been multiple touch points, which is part of my journey. First, I started volunteering when my summer camp in Ohio had a traveling camp, and we went up to Detroit to volunteer and do service with the local community there.

Then, post-graduation, I was looking for service opportunities and I rediscovered the organization on serviceyear.org. I had been looking into a bunch of different programs, and then I realized, Wait, this is a service program, and it’s Jewish—that’s great. So I participated in the Repair the World fellowship in Detroit [a year-long, full-time volunteer experience] for a year, and then from there, I knew I wanted to relocate to the Bay Area, so I made the trek westward.

When I was in between job opportunities, I heard about Service Corps, and I started volunteering with Repair again through that. I was really needing a reason to get out of my house, do something, and connect with other people as I was spending a lot of time applying for jobs. And then really beautifully, Repair got in touch with me and told me they were hiring—it was quite serendipitous that I started my role from there. I’ve been here for about two years.

And how do you spend your days now?

My primary responsibilities are coordinating our local service corps cohort and program, so really working one-to-one with our volunteers to support them in having anexcellent experience. I also convene them as a cohort for learning sessions, which happen virtually. And then, usually the corps members get together a couple times in person to do some group volunteer activities as well.

I also do a lot of meetings with community partners—so either nonprofit organizations who are interested in hosting volunteers or service corps members. And then on the flip side, I meet with a lot of Jewish communal partners to coordinate service learning or volunteer programming within their communities.

I also do a lot of one-to-one meetings in my role as a Peer Connector—so meeting folks beyond the Repair network, getting coffee, hanging out, and getting to know them. On a personal note, I love volunteering in community gardens and parks across the city, as well as participating in JFCS’ Young Adult Community Connection programs.

What does some of that volunteer work look like, if someone is a service corps member or a volunteer?

There’s a wide variety! I’m always very motivated to find opportunities that work well with people’s interests and skill sets. So we’ll have people working in the urban agriculture space at different farms or environmental gardens, or doing food justice work or mutual aid programming. That can look like providing direct meal service, or like distributing care kits and things of that nature. 

Sometimes we might have people come to us with a more specialized skill and interest, like wanting to get social media marketing experience or someone who has a law background. Then we might place them more in an internal capacity to support an organization.

Tell us more about what made you want to stay in the Bay.

After my brother graduated college, he was working in tech and had a career opportunity out here, and that sort of became a nice avenue for me—having frequent trips out to the Bay Area and to San Francisco specifically. 

Long story short, I really just fell in love with it here. I found it so energizing that people are sitting out in parks, reading books, enjoying the sunshine, and there’s so many unique traditions that take place in the city that people are very participatory. It felt very euphoric.

I also have family sprinkled up and down the whole state. I’ve been here for five years now, and I’m hoping to stay in the Bay Area long-term.

What are some of your favorite spots in San Francisco?

Two of my favorite spots that I love to tell people about, especially because they were both started by women, are Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack and Workshop SF!

Emmy’s has really good pasta, handwritten menus, and there’s a little photo booth in the back—it’s just a very vibey spot. And Workshop is a really great community space and third space. On First Fridays, they have donation-based crafts, and my girlfriends and I will bring a bottle of wine, hang out, and craft a bit. 

What does your Jewish life look like these days?

I’m involved with Congregation Emmanuel. I’m typically attending their late Shabbat programming [on second Fridays] and I always say, the more the merrier on that. Anyone has an open invite to join me at that Shabbat, if they need a friend to go with!

I also attend the Young Adult Community Connection Programs at Jewish Family and Children’s Services [in San Francisco]. It’s great to support their mission and connect with other volunteers. 

And to close, what’s your favorite part of your job?

I really love my relational engagement work, getting to meet with people one-on-one, and being a friendly face in the fabric of the Bay Area Jewish community. As we know, there are these trends of people having different phases of Jewish life. I think the one we’re in—folks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s—can be a bit confusing at times. 

So I think being able to validate and support people’s Jewish identity and help them find community in whatever way is meaningful for them, I really enjoy that. Service and commitment to service is a very integral value in my life. Repair the World describes itself as a spark for people becoming engaged with lifelong service work—that’s something I find very energizing, supporting the volunteers in finding that passion for service.

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Learn more about the Peer Connector network here — and if you want to chat about the network, reach out to our colleague Blair Lineham.