{"id":106433,"date":"2026-02-05T23:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T23:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106433\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T23:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T23:18:09","slug":"haircuts-and-hot-meals-how-two-local-men-help-others-at-the-ripple-community-center-allentown-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106433\/","title":{"rendered":"Haircuts and Hot Meals: How two local men help others at the Ripple Community Center | Allentown Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – So many people and businesses step up to help people during the holidays, but once they’re over, donations often slow down, even though the need never does.<\/p>\n

But two Lehigh Valley men try to help others, 24\/7.<\/p>\n

Zeke Zelker and Stephen Flowers are men from two different worlds, who have combined to deliver passion with purpose.<\/p>\n

Flowers is a salon owner.<\/p>\n

“I’m a local hair stylist,” Flowers said.<\/p>\n

Zelker is a chef.<\/p>\n

“Honestly, I was a latchkey kid as a little boy, and that’s actually how I learned how to cook,” smiled Zelker.<\/p>\n

Together, they’ve been volunteering to help others at The Ripple Community Center<\/a> in Allentown for years.<\/p>\n

“We live in a world that moves too fast and forgets too often. But here in this space, I get to slow down. I get to breathe, and I get to be human with some of the most beautiful souls I have ever met,” said Flowers.<\/p>\n

While Flowers provides the haircuts, Zelker looks to nourish them, not just feed them.<\/p>\n

“It’s about bringing people together, especially in the winter, because people are so isolated right now,” said Zelker.<\/p>\n

In the coldest stretch Allentown’s seen in years, there is light and warmth here.<\/p>\n

“January comes, it’s doom it’s gloom it’s dark, it’s cold, you’re stuck in the house… imagine being homeless,” Flowers said.<\/p>\n

They say everyone has the ability to give something back, and stay human.<\/p>\n

“Goodness and kindness still exist. In me, in you. And in the moments we create when we choose compassion over everything else,” said Flowers.<\/p>\n

A reminder that kindness has no expiration date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. – So many people and businesses step up to help people during the holidays, but once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[214,232,153,155,154],"class_list":["post-106433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-_homepage_top_stories","tag-allentown-area","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}