20 | MAY 12 • 2022 

B

arbara Greenberg of White Lake has 
been nominated to be our Volunteer 
of the Week for giving her time to 
the Chicken Soup with Love Program at the 
Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce/Walled 
Lake. The program is part of the Chabad 
Jewish Center’s Smile on Seniors program 
with the goal to bring cheer and companion-
ship into the lives of seniors. 
Co-director of the program Estie 
Greenberg (no relation to Barbara) says over 
the years Barbara has become like family to 
the Chabad of Commerce. “Her care and 
concern for all those she visits goes above 
and beyond. She is the highlight of the week 
to so many when she visits them,
” Estie said
When Barbara retired, she became a ded-
icated volunteer to the senior community. 
Before she started volunteering with the 
center, she used to volunteer with a Jewish 
hospice for about 12 years. 
“I became involved with these people. 
I got to know them, and you have to get 

to know them in order to make the visits 
worthwhile for them,
” Barbara said. 
When she stopped volunteering at the 
hospice, the loss became too much for her 
and she wanted to find another way to give 
back. “This opportunity came up where I 
could deliver soup. So I started doing that 
and talking to people, and it’s become the 
highlight of my week,
” she said. 
Almost every week, Barbara delivers 
Estie’s chicken matzah ball soup to sick, 
homebound senior citizens or anyone 
who could use a taste of Shabbat in the 
Commerce and West Bloomfield area. “The 
soup provides a physical and emotional 
nurturing connection with their Jewish 
community. I am merely the conduit,
” 
Barbara said. 
Barbara says she’s happy to give back to 
the community this way. “It’s a way to keep 
an eye out — not just to deliver soup, but 
to keep in touch. To see how they’re doing 
and how the caregivers are doing. I get just 

as much out of it, if not more, than I think 
they do.
” 
Barbara says she has become friends with 
those she delivers to, such as Arlene Salter, 
who she befriended several years ago. 
“She’s amazing — the highlight of my 
week,
” Arlene said. “When I am down, she 
lifts me up.
” 
Barbara said she is happy to connect with 
people she delivers to and hear about their 
lives and their family’s lives. “It’s actually 
communicating with them and seeing how 
they are and how their week has gone and 
wishing them a good Shabbos because I 
deliver on Fridays. I make that human con-
nection that Chabad likes to do and that’s 
why I do it,
” Barbara said. 
She plans to continue to volunteer with 
Chicken Soup with Love for as long as she 
can. 

For information about the Chicken Soup with Love pro-

gram, visit www.jewishcommerce.org/smile-on-seniors. 

Estie Greenberg and 
Barbara Greenberg 

Barbara Greenberg delivers more 
than just soup to senior citizens.

Chicken Soup 
& A Smile

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK

