Please join us for
Met Council's
Young Professional Cocktail Party
December 17th | 7pm-9pm
Bungalow 8 | 515 W. 27th St.
Cover charge: e-mail address only
Open wine & beer bar hors d'oeuvres
dietary laws observed
This event is intended for those in their 20's and 30's
RSVP
Pass this invitation on to your friends
- Volunteering doesn't necessarily mean that you have to actually go someplace to do the volunteering; virtual volunteering is on the rise. Virtual volunteering is as varied in the types of activities and organizations you can work for as non-virtual world volunteering. You can review resumes, scan legal documents for mistakes or translate text all from home (or work
...if your boss isn't looking..but we would never condone such behavior, of course.). Check out the UN's virtual volunteer page.
There are also many volunteer opportunities you can do from your cell phone! Let your municipality know where pot holes are, identify craters on Mars (!! what? someone please do this and tell me what it's all about!), give tax advice or conduct an interview for a radio show!
- Check out Twitter's mashup of actions to take against poverty and hunger. You can subscribe to the feed, or just read it from their website. People have twittered a wide range of actions in both categories. Add your own!
- Are you a social citizen? Find out by taking this quiz from Social Citizens and enter a chance to win a flip video camera, consulting time with a social media expert, a flickr pro account and a $100 apple gift certificate. If you aren't as much a social citizen as you hoped you were, or want to be, they also give you ways to get involved!
Contrary to any rumors you may have heard, Met Council is not stuck in the 20th century. We have taken steps to expand our social media awareness, and do not just exist as a one dimensional website. We're working on getting our CEO, Willie Rapfogel, to write his own blog, and get him on Twitter. We have this blog (yay!) and many of our photos are on SmugMug . We also have our very own YouTube channel full of all seven of Met Council's finest videos. We're also working on getting new video of clients and our staff and other interesting things that we do around town.What do you think? What would you like to see us work on? What kinds of videos would you like to see us develop?
Have you been getting significant glances from cute individuals, has your positive outlook on life sky rocketed, has your Doctor diagnosed that rash as nothing more than amazing self esteem and superior physical health, is the sheer number of people asking for your number just wearing you down? You may be suffering from a bad case of Volunteerism. Two new studies recently released have confirmed that volunteering regularly is good for your health and your love life. Read about them here and here!
The HandsOn Network and Disney have teamed up to promote Family Volunteer Day, held annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was created to demonstrate the power of families who choose to volunteer together to support the communities in which they live. Volunteering as a family provides quality time for busy families, strengthens communication and bonds and positively impacts local communities across the nation. And it gives you something important to talk about at Thanksgiving dinner! Check out family friendly volunteer events in your neighborhood.Have you, or do you now volunteer with your family? If you used to, do you think it impacted the amount of volunteering you have done later in your life?
- Youth homelessness is a one million person large problem. Most homeless youths have been forced from their homes because of circumstances beyond their control. Some manage to make it through school but others are less fortunate, resorting to begging or prostitution just to survive. Homeless kids have different needs than homeless adults - they haven't even had a chance to live their lives yet. Sign your name here to petition Congress to make ending youth homelessness a priority. This site also has several other ways to take action, such as donating your old phone and a simple text you can send to American Eagle Outfitters who will then donate an item of clothing to homeless youth.
- Do your feet smell? I bet they do. If you buy socks from Sierra Club , they will donate a pair of socks to a homeless shelter.
- What do you do when a panhandler asks you for money? Many of us ignore them, but that isn't really the best strategy; you wouldn't ignore someone in a suit if they asked you a question, why would you ignore someone sitting on the street corner? Nobody likes being ignored, and knowing how to react to homeless panhandlers is important. Also, you may be unsure about where your money is going to go; you don't want to encourage destructive behavior.
- Regardless of your response, you must assess each situation. Always look out for your own safety and avoid confrontation. That being said, here are some alternative responses to requests for money or change:
- Provide information about local organizations serving homeless people. Educate yourself about services offered by your community here. Many organizations provide brochures for people to distribute in response to requests for money.
- Carry coupons for food (such as a sandwich or cup of coffee) or pre-packaged food (granola bar or tuna).
- Even if you're not planning on giving money, food, or information, it's best to politely smile and acknowledge the individual.
Play cards, bake cookies, go for a walk, watch the game, have a chat and make a friend! Let's be honest, sometimes living in such a big city can be lonely, and we all need a friend. Sometime our seniors get lonely and need a friend just like the rest of us.
If you'd be interested in hanging out with one of our seniors, please contact the Volunteer Department at sgreenberg@metcouncil.org or 212.453.9619.
While their parents are learning how to dress for success, these kids need someone play with! Play, have fun, gain a reference for future babysitting jobs and convince your parents of how responsible you really are.November 18th, 5:30pm-7pmDecember 3rd, 5:30pm-7pm
December 10th, 5:30pm-7pm
December 17th, 5:30pm-7pm
Project Fashion WiseHelp our Career Services clients buy new clothing for interviews and jobs. We want our clients to receive the best advice of how to dress for an interview or office job as well as tips on how to keep up their appearance and general hygiene. This is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge and really help these clients become successful in the work place, we all know that when we look good, we feel good. Part of this project is having you go shopping with the clients and help them pick out the best clothes for the job! November 16th, 11am to 4pm at Met Council November 18th, 5:30pm at Met Council (Women only) November 24th, 5:30pm at Met Council (Men only)
Thanks
giving DinnerGot kitchen skills? Like to eat? We are throwing a Thanksgiving dinner party for the Seniors at our Lexington Ave housing residence, and we need you to help cook, set up, serve and of course enjoy the meal with the residents! November 23rd- help cook the food at one of our sites in Manhattan. November 24th, 5:30pm - Set up, serve and enjoy at 171 Lexington Ave
Home Attendant GraduationOur Home Attendants are graduating! Come join the party and make the night special for them by serving snacks and give a hearty cheer. November 25th, 4:30pm at Met Council
Met Council and the Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE) have been working together more and more. Most recently the folks at MJE sponsored a food drive that benefited Metro House, our low income housing site in the Bronx for people with physical or mental disabilities. We and the residents at Metro House thank them for their hard work!
Does organizing people and food or clothes to benefit those in need sound interesting? Met Council can give you some pointers about how to set up a successful drive.
Pick an item you will be able to get
For example, if you live in an apartment with many young couples, have a drive for baby supplies.
Have clear regulations
If you ask for clothes, make sure that every flyer says “new or very gently used clothes.” If you ask for toys, make sure to specify that they canʼt have batteries. If you ask for food, make sure to say that it has to be kosher. If you ask for books, make sure to specify an age group.
Publicize!
Put up flyers by the water coolers, in the cafeteria, in the elevators, on the stairs, in bathroom stalls,in the lobby, and anywhere else that has high foot traffic. Print your flyers on bright paper or with bright colors so that they will get peopleʼs attention.
Contact!
Send emails to your friends, people who live in your building and colleagues so that they all know when and where they can go to drop off their donations.
Get help!
If you are doing a drive at work, ask people in different departments to help publicize and promote the drive. If you are at an apartment, ask your doorman to tell people when they walk in about the item drive. If you have a co-op board ask the president to send an email to everyone in your building.
Create incentives to entice people to donate
Give a prize to whoever brings in the most items, or buy lunch for the person who donates the most. Get your boss to shave his head if 200 cans of tuna are brought in. Do anything that you think may make people donate.
Has anyone else done a drive before? Do you have anything to add to this list? What made yours successful or not?
Please contact the Volunteer Department if this sounds like something you want to be involved in!
What you can do this week to end poverty...drum roll please.... - VOTE!!!
- I'm going to say this once again, because it's so easy and so cool! If you register at GoodShop.com , a percentage of any purchase you make from participating businesses (like amazon and ebay and travelocity!) will go to the non-profit of your choice! The same goes for GoodSearch.com ; if you use their search engine to search for anything, GoodSearch will donate to the cause of your choice!
- Test your IQ while donating rice to the UN World Food Program! While you play a vocabulary (or georgraphy, or art recognition, or ect.) game on the Free Rice website, the money generated from the sponsors' ads goes to buying staple foods for millions of hungry people worldwide. According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children. In countries where rice is a staple part of the diet, the WFP provides about 400 grams of rice per person, per day. That is intended for two meals that include other ingredients to ensure a minimum of 2,100 kilocalories per day.
- One more click-a-button-sponsors-donate-money deal The Hunger Site
