Joe Simon, one of the founding members of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), smiles fondly when recalling one of his first memories after starting the CDC 35 years ago.

“We hired one person, basically — John Carpenter was the first employee… we told him about our vision and everything. It was a new startup, basically, so it was exciting, right? And, I think he was surprised when he looked at our books and saw that we had maybe less than $10,000 cash. And here we are, with all these grand plans, including paying him a salary. So his first charge was to go raise money.”

Simon served as a board member of the multi-faceted community association that works to better the Kensington-area and provides resources to residents. He began volunteering time in the early 80s and helped pioneer the new organization.

The organization’s beginnings certainly weren’t seamless. “It was very interesting, because I knew nothing about community development, absolutely nothing,” Simon said. “I would say virtually all of the board members fit that category. We had one common goal, which was interest in improving the community.”

He recounts a time, at the NKCDC’s very beginning, where the members had divided duties in the effort of renovating a home. “We had a discussion for about an hour on what type of wheelbarrow we should buy. I mean, it was so ridiculous, and we laughed about it for years, but that was where we were in the beginning.”

Their shared interest in helping the neighborhood residents at a time when it was needed most led to the group’s formation, and, in 1985, the NKCDC officially became an organization. This happened regardless of the challenges presented by most board members having previously been unpracticed in community leadership.

The drive to make things happen, says Simon, for him personally came from the joy he took in engaging with the people. “For the organization,” he said, “the most important thing was that the community at that time was at a tipping point. It was going to be investment or disinvestment. And, there was a big mood and motion of disinvestment.”

The NKCDC came about in order to combat that motion of disinvestment. “The power of many people working together is much stronger and just being a part of that is really good… The goal [of the organization] was to stabilize the community and to create positive energy and encouragement for reinvestment.”

Simon recounts the group’s early successes, including publishing a full page advertisement in the local newspaper that generated enough revenue to provide the paper to residents who otherwise weren’t receiving it. “That was a big thing,” he says. “Just getting the community together.”

Along with unifying the community, the early efforts of the NKCDC included recognizing others with a similar passion and charitable spirit. “We just kind of held up a mirror to the community,” recalls Simon. “And, at our annual banquets, we would recognize people that had nothing to do with our organization, but they were building a stronger community for whatever they were doing. And that, in retrospect, I think was very helpful for people to understand what we were all about.”

The NKCDC was founded in a time where the economy made it difficult to start a nonprofit. Even so, the founding members were able to pull all of the strings together. Simon cites that the NKCDC’s success in such adverse financial conditions had proven their persistence as an organization and thus garnered support from bankers, politicians and the likes.

Although the board “has its own issues,” says Simon, “… the organization, for all intents and purposes, is really the staff. And, I would say that the staff has had many, many positive experiences and personal interactions on a daily basis.” The anecdotes would trickle back to the board, stories from staff members of making things previously thought impossible come to life for members of the community in need. “From the very beginning, [the staff] was the most important thing. We hired great people.”

Simon cites the beginning of the NKCDC as his “first advanced degree. Because I [was] responsible for the business by sitting on the board, with cash flows coming from various…  different streams and services that go out in different streams. And you’re trying to connect those. It’s a really difficult challenge and you have to be accountable for different things.”

Joe Simon is no longer a member of the board after a ten year service to the NKCDC. He currently focuses on work and his family, but he still attends NKCDC events and keeps in touch with friends on the staff. “It’s great to hear [about their successes]. It’s fantastic how far the organization has come. It’s really a wonderful testament to the work and effort of people.”

Although hedidn’t have experience in community building when he began laying the brick for the NKCDC, their success as an organization speaks to the ability of people to persevere for a cause and truly makes a case for volunteerism. “Just do it,” Simon said, giving advice for people who want to get involved in their own community.

“There’s a lot of community activity now. We had events like… bands playing and things like that. Now you can see how it’s [evolved],” he said, commenting on the NKCDC’s current success. “There are so many fantastic events in the community and it’s self perpetuating. Just get involved, do something and then you’ll find the satisfaction is in giving and participating, so you’ll continue to do it to the extent that you can.”

Apparently, people truly can’t resist continuing to give once they start.