Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living magazine. Today I have Joyce Lokitus with me. Hi, Joyce. How are you?
Joyce Lokitus: Good. How are you?
Toni: I’m great. Joyce, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Joyce: I’ve been in Berks County for over 20 years. I’m currently an advisor for the Newcomers Club of Greater Reading. Last year I was the President of this organization. It’s a local social organization for women. It’s a supportive friendship group that is available to anyone from the area, especially those who are new to the area, or women who are looking for new friends, or have been through a transition in their life.
Toni: That sounds really interesting. I had no idea that even existed. That is pretty cool. Let’s go into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Joyce: Inspiration to me can be really anything small to large, from overhearing a conversation, seeing a sunset, looking at flowers, reading a certain statement in a book. It’s very personal to each person as far as what will inspire them.
Toni: When you’ve been inspired like that, when you’re reading something or you see something, Joyce, do you know when it happens?
Joyce: I do, because it gives me a little spurt of energy. It makes me feel more connected with myself. It’s something that creates in me a desire to do something kind, to do something to help improve either my own situation or other people’s.
Toni: So it really moves you to do good for others?
Joyce: Yes. I think that’s what inspiration is about. For me, it actually takes me out of the stress of the workday world, which gets so crazy, and it makes me focus on the moment, and that there is kindness in the world and there is beauty in the world. It behooves us to try to spread that around.
Toni: I love that, and to be inspired to do that, and that’s the action that it moves you to, which is to be kind and spread that around to others, that’s pretty significant. How do you take that when that happens to you and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Joyce: A lot of times, everyone is just an ordinary person and they don’t have a big platform like a politician or a performer, but there is so much that you can do just as an average citizen, whether it’s just waving somebody in front of you in line with a traffic situation, or whether it’s creating a meal and taking it to a friend or a neighbor who has just come back from the hospital. It’s helping out any of the nonprofit organizations in Berks County. There are so many of them that do wonderful work. They’re always looking for people to help out. We all have our individual talents. It’s something that really doesn’t have to take a big time commitment, either.
Toni: I like that. Do you have several of these that you do? Do you pick and choose?
Joyce: I think that we all have different passions in our life, and there are so many different organizations that you should really look at the one that is most close to what your passion is. What I like to get involved in is the Berks Food Pantry. I’m a volunteer there. Also, I’ve given donations over the years to the Hope Mission Center, which is important to help with the homeless in the area. Also through my church, I’m a Eucharistic Minister, so I’ve taken hosts to the homebound and also to the local nursing homes. My husband and I have helped with the local soup kitchens as well.
There’s others, too. There’s also Christmas wrapping as a fundraiser that the Children’s Home of Reading has in December. Like I said, there’s so many avenues that you can select from.
Toni: Oh my gosh – you really do give it back when you’re inspired. How do you find out about these? Can you give me an example of the last time you were inspired by something where you said, “I need to do something about this.”?
Joyce: I would say that a lot of times in the newspaper you will see different articles about individuals or organizations that need help. Also, on television, they’ll also have something that’s occurred where there’s been a fire at someone’s house. The last time that I saw that was someone’s house had burned down, and they were in need of clothing and the basics, so my husband and I went and put together what we had at home in a basket and so forth and took that over. I think there is always a community need out there. We just need to be aware of it and act on it.
Toni: Yes. Not wait to see what others do, but when you are moved by something and inspired by a story, take that action. You are living proof of doing that. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Joyce: A lot of the older women in Berks County. The women who are in their 70s and 80s are just amazing to me – the life experiences that they have had over the years and the advice that they have to give, the travel they have done, the kindnesses they do for others. I just enjoy listening to them, and every time I talk to them, I find something new that inspires me to become more like them.
Toni: That’s fantastic. There’s a project we’d like to start called The Legacy Project where we interview the seniors of our area who have so many stories to tell, and we need to learn from them as you’re speaking about, right?
Joyce: I think that would be perfect. I think in this day and age with it being a confusing world with everyone so worried and having so many balls in the air, I think it would be nice to get some of that advice, common sense, and direction from people who have already been through so much in their lives and can share that with others.
Toni: What would you like your legacy to be, Joyce?
Joyce: I think I’d like my legacy to be that when people would think of me that maybe I’ve left more people with smiles than negative thoughts. I’d like to have in some small way made a difference somehow, whether it’s through the different volunteer organizations or just everyday living. I think that if everybody just did a small kindness each day, I think it would make a world of difference.
Toni: Do you think you’re living that legacy right now?
Joyce: I try to. I’m not perfect. All of us make mistakes. I just each day get up and think, “Okay, what can I do today to make things a little bit better for someone?” Some days I’m having a bad day and it’s difficult to do, but I find that when you help others that it does come back to you tenfold, and it also makes you feel good when you can help someone else.
Toni: What a great interview. Thank you for doing what you’re doing, and thank you, Joyce, for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
Joyce: Thank you very much.
