Volunteer Spotlight: Christopher D’Ambrosio

November 13, 2017

This month’s individual volunteer spotlight is on Christopher D’Ambrosio who is a senior high school student at Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square. When Christopher volunteered at Broad Street Ministry last year serving food, he met one of our guests who was extraordinarily wise and kind, sharing invaluable life lessons. Chris reflected, “He really left an impact on me and I wanted to try to give back in some way.”

Christopher has always been fascinated with extreme weather but realized that these elements also take their toll on the most vulnerable, especially those without a roof over their heads. He established the “Heart-Warming Hoodies” program because he wanted to do something to provide protection and warmth to the guests of Broad Street Ministry during Philly’s cold winters, but also to let them know that someone cares. Heart-Warming Hoodies can be accessed through the web page link www.heartwarminghoodies.com which contains a “donate” link to the Amazon wish list. Hoodies cost about $20 each and can be purchased and shipped to the Broad Street Ministry gift registry address: 315 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107. To date, Christopher has collected 201 hoodies, with the goal of collecting 400.

To help expand the program, Chris established relationships with Target Stores in Plymouth Meeting, King of Prussia, Malvern, Center City, Rittenhouse Square and on Monument Road, all of which have provided generous donations. Christopher commented on the generosity of the local store managers, stating “I couldn’t believe they all said ‘yes.’ I felt so grateful. To them, the problem was personal. Broad Street Ministry was part of their community.”

In Christopher’s spare time, he is a storm chaser and Weather Watcher for CBS 3 where he sends in daily weather reports from his home weather station. In his free time, he likes playing basketball with his friends and watching movies with his family. Chris’s favorite food is cheeseburgers. He has heard that the Rooster Soup Company has great burgers and is hoping to try one soon!

You can help Christopher reach his goal of collecting 400 hoodies through his website: www.heartwarminghoodies.com