Speaking of Service- Words from financial representatives who received a 2008 Volunteer Excellence Award.

“The first way to get people involved is to help them get additional funding for a treasured cause.” —John Ungerman

John Ungerman - Pottstown, Pennsylvania

John and his wife, Barb, have two daughters and one grandson. They are members of St. James Lutheran Church in Pottstown. John is a member of the Upper Montgomery County Chapter in the Pennsylvania Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Financial Representatives category and awarded his grant to Habitat Montgomery County and to the St. James Lutheran Church Capital Fund.

Following is an excerpt from an interview with John:

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. Other than being active on my church council, I really wasn’t active in volunteering. With my previous job, I did not have the flexibility or the time to volunteer.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. A lot of it just evolved. Another financial representative pointed me in the direction of getting involved with Manatwany Manor, a non-profit senior living residence. It was a good opportunity. The local planning commissioner was one of my clients and asked me to join that board. I got involved with Habitat for Humanity through the Thrivent Builds program. The last two years we’ve done Thrivent Builds trips to the Gulf Coast. The one nice thing about the Gulf Coast is that you’re working on more than one house, so there’s something for every skill level.

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. Doing the groundbreaking and dedication of Habitat houses has to be the most heart-warming, and I’ve done both this year. They are two totally opposite events that are equally as exciting and emotional. One’s a new beginning and the other is the realization of that new beginning. At the groundbreaking I attended, the owner’s son, who was 4, took a shovel and started digging. He didn’t want to stop.

Q. What’s the most unique fund-raising activity you’ve been a part of?
A. For the last several years, our Thrivent region’s signature event has been a picnic where different churches bring praise bands in to perform for members. We have a dunk-the-pastor event and a petting zoo. We open it up to the community. It’s a great afternoon and people appreciate it.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. When someone is telling me about a project, I let them know that if they get a group of Thrivent Financial members together, they could apply for supplemental funding and leverage their gift. The first way to get people involved is to help them get additional funding for a treasured cause.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. I enjoy the work. It expands my horizons. Plus, someone has to do it.

Q. If the sky was the limit, and neither time nor money stood in the way, what would you like to see accomplished as a result of volunteer efforts?
A. In this country, that everyone would have a decent place to live. I keep thinking about all these foreclosed homes and people who don’t have homes after Katrina. Everyone deserves a decent home.