Neighbor Spotlight: Charity work opens McCandless man's eyes to plight of needy

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, visit northjournal.com, select the “Post Story” button in the upper right corner, click the “New Article” button and complete the form to publish your nomination. Questions? Email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

Joe Popchak’s decades-long career as a civil engineer and a busy personal life didn’t leave the 67-year-old McCandless man much time to pursue his goal of helping others until he retired nine years ago and began volunteering with North Hills Community Outreach.

“Except for working at my church’s fish fries and festivals over the years, I really didn’t have the time to do any kind of volunteer work,” said Popchak, a Johnstown native who earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s of business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

After settling in Pittsburgh, Popchak landed a job with the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, where his work included the redevelopment of Herr’s Island and Washington’s Landing along the Allegheny River, South Side Works and the Pittsburgh Technical Center on Second Avenue.

The life-long bachelor said his career afforded him the opportunity to travel the world extensively and pursue activities such as scuba diving, fishing, skiing and golf.

And while he still enjoys those activities, retirement at age 58 gave him the time to do something that had beckoned throughout his life.

“As soon as I retired, one of my goals was to start giving back to the community,” he said. “A friend who I bowled with said she had volunteered with North Hills Community Outreach and explained what the organization was all about.

“Two days after I retired I signed up to go through the orientation to become a volunteer with them,” Popchak said.

NHCO is a community- and interfaith-based organization that provides food, clothing and an array of social services and assistance to people facing hardships.

Popchack, who focuses his time working with the organization’s food pantry, said until he began volunteering, he was not fully aware of the need that exists in the community.

“There are people coming to the pantry for food who are living out of their vehicles,” he said. “That’s not something I expected to see in the North Hills. It’s heart-wrenching.

“Many of the people I’ve met were in very responsible positions, but because of health issues, family problems and one piece of bad luck after another, they’ve lost everything,” Popchak said.

Popchak said the affluence in the North Hills can overshadow the difficulties many people face.

“When I try to explain to friends about the need that exists here, they often look at me kind of strange,” he said. “They don’t realize that there are so many people here who are struggling.”

While Popchak is proud to be able to help people in need, he is reluctant to receive praise for his efforts.

“I’m just one of many, many volunteers here,” he said. “I’m constantly surprised by how much time, energy and financial support some of them put in. Volunteering here has also been a great way to meet new people from different backgrounds who are working together on something important.”

Tom Baker, NCHO’s executive director, said volunteers like Popchak “keep us moving forward and enable us to accomplish so much more as an organization.”

“When you tally up all of the volunteer hours provided per year it ends up being equivalent to 11 additional full-time staff members,” Baker said. “Because of the kindness, sincerity, compassion, and generosity of our volunteers, we are able to support so many more local neighbors experiencing hardship, crisis and poverty. The sweat equity that our volunteers like Joe give to NHCO is admirable and greatly appreciated.”

Popchak said while his career with the URA included many projects to provide housing for people in underprivileged communities, there is something special about the direct assistance that can be provided as a volunteer for a charity organization.

“Even though my job allowed me to do some good for various communities, I didn’t get a sense of the importance of our work,” he said. “But whether it’s providing coats for people in winter, toys for kids at Christmas or food and other necessities, there’s an immediate feeling that you are doing the right thing when you help people in need.”