Humanitarians are as diverse as the individuals they support and serve. They come from every demographic and profession, and they each have a different, unique reason that fuels their passion for giving.
Berks County boasts thousands of such generous givers. Learn more about three of them: a chef who uses his culinary talents to raise money for charities, a director who develops community leaders, and an executive director who supports individuals and families through hardships. They each are doing their extraordinary part to make the Greater Reading community shine.
Tim Twiford
Chef Tim’s Table
Improving lives involves more than giving money to help those in need; it’s also offering a listening ear and giving advice, direction and guidance. This is what Chef Tim’s Table is all about.
Chef Tim Twiford, the Executive Chef at the Crowne Plaza Reading, Wyomissing, and hotel owner Justin Jabara brought to life the concept of Chef Tim’s Table, which opened at the hotel in 2014. Chef Tim provides a unique dining experience for guests. They sit in a special space located in the heart of the hotel kitchen, with 14-foot glass walls and a front-row view of the bustling kitchen filled with cooks and waiters in action.
Chef Tim shares his passion for cooking and teaches by preparing a six-course meal using six different cooking techniques, like smoking, poaching, glazing or sautéing.
When he isn’t hosting intimate birthday, anniversary or graduation parties; sales tours; or, his favorite, marriage proposals and birth announcements, Chef Tim is using his culinary talents to raise money for local charities and to bring happiness to individuals going through health hardships.
“The room is all about improving lives,” says Chef Tim, who has been creating delicious meals at the Crowne Plaza for 19 years and previously at The Inn at Reading for 16 years.
Even the materials in the room are symbolic of the mission of Chef Tim’s Table. One of the walls is made of recycled wooden pallets from Hope Rescue Mission.
“Hope Rescue Mission restores lives and gives guys a second chance,” Chef Tim says. “And the men of the mission gave that wood a second chance. The story in that room is unique.”
Thanks to the William Meyer and Richard Jabara families, who own and operate the Crowne Plaza, which has been a foundation for the Berks County community for 25 years, Chef Tim’s Table has given almost $40,000 per year, totaling nearly $120,000, back to the community through dinner events sold at silent auctions and through the #ChefTimCooksforFamily program.
Dozens of local schools, libraries and businesses conduct silent auctions and ask guests to bid on a dinner at Chef Tim’s Table. The average price for a dinner goes for $800, with the highest bid to date reaching $2,500.
“We do well over 50 of these a year, and 100 percent of the proceeds from these auctions go to charity,” Tim assures.
Local beneficiaries of these auctions have included the United Way, Olivet Boys and Girls Club, Reading Symphony Orchestra and Unending Promise.
Through #ChefTimCooksforFamily, Chef Tim prepares a free dinner for a person experiencing a medical hardship and his/her family.
“Just getting them all together and being in a completely different atmosphere is special,” Chef Tim says. “You can go to other great restaurants, but here, you are coming to a special place.”
Chef Tim has made many fond memories while preparing dinner for these families and has formed lasting friendships.
“I’ve met so many phenomenal families with heartwarming stories,” Chef Tim shares. “I’ve gotten to know them and travel along with them. I’ve made some great friends – and I lost some great friends too.”
Chef Tim also supports charities by participating in fundraisers, most recently the 3rd Annual Take the Chill Off fundraiser, making 2 tons of chili to raise money for Blankets of Hope.
“Helping others is the No. 1 thing,” Chef Tim says of supporting nonprofits. “For me, I love doing it.”
Chef Tim often tags his social media posts with the mantra #missionlifeimpact and “Everything Counts – Be Your Best.” He continues living out those words and making a positive difference in Berks County. He encourages others to do the same.
“Try to have an impact as much as you can, because you’re only here for a very short time.”
Toni Eckert
Leadership Berks
With strong leadership, a community will continue to prosper. Toni Eckert is making sure residents have what it takes to keep the Greater Reading community thriving.
“I’ve had the honor of working with community leaders to grow our next generation of leaders,” says Toni, who has helped professionally develop more than 350 community leaders during her 14-year tenure as director of Leadership Berks, a professional development certificate program offered within the O'Pake Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Public Service at Alvernia University.
“My job is to meet people where they are and take them where they need to go,” Toni says of her role.
Running annually September through June, Leadership Berks provides community leaders with training on best practices in nonprofit management and board governance, ultimately helping them contribute to the economic vitality of Greater Reading.
Each class averages 25 students from all sectors of the working world ranging in age from their late 20s to mid-60s. The program boasts 850 alumni – since the program’s inception in 1985 – who are serving and working in Berks County.
“Everyone has gifts, talents and resources they contribute to the health and vitality of our communities,” Toni explains of those who have gone through the program. “Everyone can contribute.”
One of the best parts of her job, she says, is seeing the students’ professional and personal transformation by the end of the program.
“To see people grow professionally and personally and take on new responsibilities – for me, that is the butter,” shares Toni, of Jefferson Township. “It’s an amazing thing to witness. I get a really cool seat.”
Toni believes Leadership Berks is an important initiative for a community that cares so deeply about its people.
“In my experience, public service is part of the cultural fabric of the Reading community,” Toni notes. “From all walks of life, from every corner of our city and county, people are incredibly generous with their time, talent and resources. I see this as a huge community asset that is not necessarily true in other communities and one that we may sometimes take for granted.”
Toni’s passion for public service began early in life, when she watched her Italian immigrant parents work hard to establish a successful life in the United States. Her father did not speak English fluently and only had a third-grade education, yet, Toni says, “he modeled an incredible work ethic and love of people by building a successful business and hiring people no one else would hire.”
Toni’s dad passed away when she was only 9, and her mom worked two or three jobs regularly to provide for her and her brothers as the sole breadwinner.
She recalls a story 30 years after her father’s passing that exemplifies his character. “My brother ran into an ex-con who my dad had hired all those years ago,” Toni remembers. “He broke into tears recalling my dad’s compassion and willingness to take a chance on him – a chance that later positioned him for a successful career that allowed him to put his children through college.”
Toni’s parents’ compassion for others has empowered Toni throughout her life. “As a first-generation American and first-generation college graduate, their examples made public service come so naturally to me,” Toni adds. “I learned to believe in the incredible capacity of people to make positive change.”
So as long as Toni oversees Leadership Berks, she will continue to make positive change in the community while inspiring and guiding community leaders to make the Reading area an even better place to live and work.
Sue Krall
New Journey Community Outreach
For Oley resident Sue Krall, serving others has led to a rewarding career doing meaningful, purposeful work to help improve the lives of thousands of adults and children in Reading.
“When people go by my door and say, ‘hello’ and ‘thank you very much,’ then you know you helped them and it meant something,” shares Sue, the executive director of New Journey Community Outreach (NJCO), which provides a daily soup kitchen, weekly food pantry and weekly clothing center for local individuals and families in need. “When I go home at the end of the day, what makes me feel good is knowing that the people who come here had a warm, welcoming experience.”
Sue has been instrumental in creating this type of heartfelt experience since joining the NJCO in 2014 when the organization became an independent nonprofit organization. For more than 40 years, the food and clothing services were provided at a church on Sixth Street. In 2013, the church merged with West Lawn United Church, and a 501c3 nonprofit organization was established to ensure services continued, giving birth to NJCO.
With its new nonprofit status five years ago, NJCO needed an executive director. When Sue interviewed for the position, she knew instantly that she wanted to help NJCO continue making a positive impact in the community.
“I realized immediately how important it was, and I really wanted to be a part of it and to help it grow,” Sue recalls.
During the next two years, Sue worked closely with the Board of Directors to establish policies and procedures and to recruit members of the community to serve on a Fund Development Advisory Group to help NJCO strengthen and build upon its financial base, assuring sustainability.
Services continued without disruption during the transition. The soup kitchen serves 180 individuals a day, four days a week, and is the largest soup kitchen in Reading, according to Sue. The food pantry is open every Wednesday and serves 80 unduplicated families each week. The clothing center operates every Friday.
The driving force behind Sue’s commitment and dedication to serving those in need is her belief that “everyone deserves to eat and no one should go hungry.”
“For everyone who walks through that door, there is a story, a hardship and a need,” Sue explains. “We all have had hardships, times of crisis. When hardships hit, most of us have a huge support system who care and can help us. That is not always the case for many who come here to eat, to get groceries or clothing. We strive not only to provide hunger relief, but also to generate an atmosphere of caring, comfort and respect.”
Sue is quick to credit and praise the 600 volunteers for the organization’s success, as well as the two part-time staffers, Denise Harner, food program coordinator, and Joe Speece, custodian.
“The people who make a difference for those coming here are the volunteers and the staff, because they treat everyone as we would want to be treated,” Sue says. “We cannot take away the hardship or challenges people face, but we can provide a nutritious meal; warm, clean, dry clothing; and a welcoming smile.”
Sue’s direction and leadership continue to grow NJCO.
She launched three new programs in the past four years: a back-to-work clothing center available by appointment, a medicine program in collaboration with Tower Health Street Medicine that brings physicians and nurses to NJCO to address medical issues, and an ongoing nutrition education segment.
On adding new services for her clients, Sue says, “It’s another way to help in hardship.”
