Skilled Volunteers Wanted

Financial Report Developer
We need a volunteer who is familiar with Sage or Sage Timberline accounting systems to help our fiscal department develop management and financial reports. Scheduling is flexible.

Cash Flow Analysis
We are looking for a volunteer to help with cash flow analysis and projections. Met Council has complex cash flows, including income from different public and private grantors, fee revenue, rents, etc, as well as complex expenses. We need to improve our cash flow tracking, forecasting and modeling.

Funder Report Analysis
Met Council would like a volunteer to help us prepare reports to major funders, including foundations and government entities. The reports require analysis of programs and expenses according to the requirements of the funders.

Interested? Contact Jillian at jconstantine@metcouncil.org or 212.453.9675.

Take Action Round Up: April 30

Are you from New Jersey? Are you the biggest Springsteen fan ever? The NJ food bank has 14 original photographs of The Boss to give away to each the lucky winners of their fundraising contest. For every $25 you donate, your name will be entered into the drawing for one of the prints.


Saturday May 9th your mail carrier will bring you your mail and take your food donations. Leave non-perishable, non-expired and non-glass contained food next to your mail box. Last year 73 million pounds of food were donated. Check the post office site to see if your mail carrier is participating.

Met Council's MVP Cocktail Party

JOIN US FOR THE FESTIVITIES!

Met Council's Most Valuable Players (MVPs) invite you
to a night of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres
at Butterfield 8.

Date: May 12, 2009 Time: 7-10 PM 5 E. 38th Street (Between 5th and Madison Aves.) New York, NY 10016 $36 reservations $40 at the door 2 hour open bar starts at 7 PM.

RSVP HERE

Proceeds to Benefit Met Council's
Food for Life Campaign

Volunteer Photos

KJ of Manhattan sponsored a clothing drive on our behalf which resulted in mountains of clothes for us to give to our clients. However, the mountains were not sorted. To our rescue came a Lutheran youth group from Worcester, MA doing good deeds on their spring break! They spent the morning sorting the clothing so it could be easily stored in our warehouse and await distribution to our clients. They did a great job!

Non-Profit Work and Loan Forgivness

As of July 1st of this year, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will go into full effect. The basis of this act is to make college loans less burdensome for students who are interested in going into public service. This can happen in two ways: if after school you are employed full time in a non-profit job (government, 501 c 3, etc.) and still have debts (certain types of student loans) after 10 years, the remainder of your loans may be forgiven. Secondly, there is the Income-based Repayment Plan which can significantly reduce your monthly loan repayment amount. There are many stipulations about what kinds of loans and what kinds of employment qualify to be eligible for these programs, however, they're worth learning about if you are dedicated to service. Learn more about it at Equal Justice Works.

Take Action Round Up: April 20

For every search that you do on Hoongle, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program to feed hungry people. Hoongle runs on Google, which makes it easy and awesome to use.

Help someone and then get help yourself. Check out Karmawish to connect with people all over the whole wide world.

For those living below the poverty line, washing clothes presents both a logistical problem and a financial hardship. From a conversation with a local homeless friend who conveyed this basic need, the Laundry Love Project was started. Laundry Love Projects partner with local laundromats to clean the clothes of those living in shelters, motels, cars, garages and on the streets. Talk to your local laundromat owner to participate in Laundry Love, or donate laundry loads to those who need it.

Invisible People in NYC : Willy

Willy from invisible people on Vimeo.

MusicianCorps

We can all use our skills in National service.
The newly formed Music National Service Initiative supports and expands the use of music as a strategy to meet important civic and social goals.
In fall 2009, MNS is piloting a “musical Peace Corps” called MusicianCorps and a “music volunteerism” network called MusicianMentors that will expand access to music education and improve youth achievement in underserved public schools and communities.
With the right training and support, creative artists can apply their talent and energy to improve lives, build communities and engender global understanding of the common humanity of all people.

Take Action Round Up: April 13

Volunteer opportunities for the ladies, WE TV has started a campaign to inspire women to dedicate 24 hours to volunteering to change the world.

Play games and test your cat like reflexes by lighting digital candles for charity.

Play a refugee in Darfur in Darfur is Dying to help raise awareness and funds to help the victims of the genocide in Sudan.

Invisible People : Jennifer

Jennifer from invisible people on Vimeo.

AmeriCorp Week is approaching!

The third annual AmeriCorps week is coming up next month! From May 9th to the 16th AmeriCorps members and community volunteers across the country gather together to get things done! This year, in New York, the idea is to Get Green Done, with lots of events surrounding sustainability and greening. Met Council has two volunteer projects scheduled thus far:

• May 11th join us at 89 Carlton Avenue in Brooklyn to plant a garden for our residents.
• May 12th, we will be partnering with ReLightNYC to exchange regular light bulbs for energy efficient CF bulbs in 3 of our east side housing residence.

Check back here for more AmeriCorps Week events!! If you are interested in volunteering, or have an idea for an event, email Jillian Constantine or call her at 212.453.9675.

Take Action Round Up: April 7

• Nabuur is an online volunteering platform that links online volunteers with local communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Connected through Nabuur.com, volunteers and communities learn about each other, share ideas and find solutions to local issues.
  
  
• When you sell something on Ebay, you can donate a portion of your sale to the charity of your choosing. Checkout how it works at Ebaygiving.

Phone Pals

Do you know an isolated senior who can use somebody to talk to? Met Council can help! Phone Pals is a volunteer service where volunteers create relationships with seniors over the phone. This serves two purposes, it gives the senior companionship and also allows Met Council to be in touch with the senior in case there is a need for additional services. If you or someone you know would benefit from this program, please contact Jillian Constantine at 212-453-9675 or jconstantine@metcouncil.org