Mock Interview Workshop with Metropolitan Moms

Even with the snow and muck on January 26, 2011, Metropolitan Moms and Met Council’s clients came out to participate in our Mock Interview Workshop. This was the second part of a two part workshop that Metropolitan Moms took part in to prepare Met Council clients for their continued job searches. Each client came with two different job postings for which to interview for and each Metropolitan Mom volunteer interviewed two different clients. This format gave clients the opportunity to practice interviewing for two different positions and to also receive feedback on their interviewing skills from two different interviewers!

Client Feedback:
“It was worth coming out in the snow. Both the interviewers gave me positive ways to go about getting that job. This was a great experience.”

“I am really very happy that I met Olive today because she opened my mind and my view on how to respond on questions during an interview. It was really very helpful for developing my confidence in an interview.”

Volunteer Feedback:
“Both women were very receptive and open to the mock interview. One woman I feel like I was really able to help and offer her sound advice.”

“Great great set up and execution. It is amazing to offer women this wonderful opportunity to help them with their resumes and interview skills; a true mitzvah to give them the confidence and a safe place to enhance their skills. I truly think the sessions have been incredibly organized and they have been extremely useful to the women using them.”

MLK Day

To mark the 25th anniversary of MLK Day, Met Council’s volunteer department led 4 different projects that mobilized 180 volunteers across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. From delivering self-help devices for homebound seniors to sorting thousands of donated clothing, our wonderful and energetic volunteers accomplished many amazing things in just one day. Here are some of the highlights:

• 80 volunteers sorted and organized thousands of donated clothes for clients in need
  

• 25 volunteers packaged and delivered self-help devices to homebound seniors across the five boroughs. Volunteers assembled 200 packages and delivered them to 30 seniors.
  

• 40 volunteers from UJA-Federation Long Island assembled 1400 food packages at our food warehouse

• 35 volunteers distributed over 3700 informational pamphlets about local benefits enrollment in the Bronx

These MLK Day activities will touch the lives of hundreds of our clients – individuals in need receiving food packages, clients being able to choose clothes with dignity, and seniors living more safely and independently in their own home.

None of this could have happened without our volunteers. Lorraine, a homebound senior that was a recipient of our assisted-living package, spoke highly of the MLK Day volunteers. “They were so lovely, helpful, and bright,” she said. “They really made my day.”

Check out more photos of the event.

Metropolitan Moms Prepare Clients for the Job Hunt

Metropolitan Moms, a group of young professional women living in the city, recently joined Met Council to volunteer and help clients improve their resumes. The event was the launch of a two part workshop for career readiness, which will also include a mock interview session next week.
The workshop kicked off with a storytelling exercise. Each of the attendees was asked to improvise a portion of a story, incorporating small details about their lives into the ever-changing plot. This activity put participants in the mindset of sharing their story, in order to help them do the same with their resumes.

Each person was then paired with a Metropolitan Mom volunteer to begin work on their resumes. The experienced and caring volunteers instantly began to connect with their clients so that they could together prepare an extraordinary resume.

Many participating clients are recent graduates of the Met Council Empower RN program. The Empower RN program prepares immigrant nurses for the NCLEX ((National Council Licensure EXamination), an exam for the licensing of nurses in the United States. Other clients are victims of domestic violence and are now facing life changes, such as getting a job for the first time in many years or looking for new employment to better suit their situation.

An excellent resume is essential in finding employment in today’s competitive job market. Volunteers from Metropolitan Moms worked vigorously to understand their clients’ needs and goals in order to create professional resumes. Clients left the workshop, not only grateful for the experience, but also ready to send out their new and improved resumes to potential employers.
To learn more about Met Council volunteer opportunities, call 212-453-9619 or email volunteer@metcouncil.org.

Remarkable Volunteer: Julia Plistyef

In light of the hard work that she has devoted to our Senior Lunch Program and her awesome dedication to Met Council in general, the volunteer department is pleased to announce that Julia Plistyef is the recipient of this month's Volunteer of the Month award! This is our way of saying thank you to Julia for skillfully and enthusiastically upholding her responsibilities as a volunteer leader.

Julia started volunteering with Met Council in the summer of 2009. She learned about Met Council when she was looking for a job and other volunteer opportunities after her position at the Anti-Defamation League ended. When Julia discovered Met Council's website, she was so impressed with the organization's mission that she contacted Met Council to set up a volunteer opportunity. To this day, she has been extremely valuable in helping us fulfill our mission of fighting poverty.

"Since I was little, I've been taught by my parents that it's very important to provide help to others. Consequently, Met Council's mission gives me a great opportunity and chance to spread kindness and give back. First as a volunteer and then as a Volunteer Leader, I've been involved in a variety of projects and programs, which range from collecting and distributing back-packs for needy children, creating packages for the Food for Life campaign, distributing Passover packages, movie nights, gardening at low income housing, assisting residents with Census forms, bingo nights, to assisting with the opening of the Masbia soup kitchens and Sunday luncheons for the seniors in low income residents. It's such a great experience when I see how happy the clients are to receive food packages for holidays, have free hot lunches, or attend different activities. As a result, I feel good and proud to make a difference in people's lives and to be part of this great cause. Thank You! I am hoping to get involved in more projects in the future." -Julia Plistyef

Met Council is so grateful for Julia's efforts and we take such pride in her ongoing volunteerism with our organization.

Thank you so much, Julia!

NY Cares Mock Interview Workshop

Even with the snow storm scare, Met Council Clients and NY Cares volunteers came out after work to have a fun and useful Mock Interview Workshop. Each client brings two copies of their resume as well as a copy of a job posting that they are qualified for to the workshop. The interviewers then use this posting to interview the clients so they can get real interview experience with productive feedback at the end of the session. The volunteers and clients are separated as they enter so it will be as real an experience as possible, one never knows who will be interviewing them, and they come together at the end of the evening to talk about their experience. Both the volunteers and the clients talked about their impressions and feelings on this tough subject of getting back into the swing of interviewing and how best to market one's skills and personality to be considered a real candidate for the job one is interviewing for. The energy at the end of the evening was high and everyone seemed to have had a meaningful experience.

Feedback from evaluations and phone calls:

Client: Thank you for a memorable evening, it was very very well organized and it was very informative, it was good, it reinforced again what I believed all along. Thank you.

Client: I have to say that this workshop helped me a lot to fix some of my problems that I have when I come to an interview. I could recognize some of my weaknesses in an interview, which from now on my interviews should be better. They also saw some errors on my resume which I will fix. This will help me in the job search progress.

Volunteer: I love this workshop. The candidates are highly motivated, competent and intelligent. They did not break character and really appreciated our feedback at the end.

Volunteer: I liked the workshop today. The environment is great. As an employer I sent lots of questions and I think the members have practiced a lot of interview skills. I am very satisfied with this workshop. The first participant performed well. She has a direct goal and knows what to do in the future.

MLK Day Volunteer Opportunities

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Day is almost here . . . what will you be doing for others? Make sure you sign up for our two special volunteer events before spaces are full.

PACKAGE AND DELIVER SELF-HELP DEVICES TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS
Monday, January 17th, 11am-3pm
Packaging at 80 Maiden Lane, 21st floor
Distribution in five boroughs of NYC

Help a senior stay safe and independent in his or her own home! Met Council is giving away assistive devices to homebound seniors to aid them in living independently. Volunteers will be responsible for packaging the material, attending a train-the-trainer session on how to use these devices, and then delivering in person the packages to senior households across New York City. Volunteers must be willing to travel to Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.
Please RSVP to Kelley Baldwin at kbaldwin@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9675.

SORT AND ORGANIZE DONATED CLOTHING
Monday, January 17th, 10am-12pm
80 Maiden Lane, 21st floor

Through the Machson Mobile, a converted van that serves as a mobile clothing shop, Met Council has brightened the lives of thousands of individual and families in need throughout New York City. For MLK Jr. Day, we need volunteers to sort through thousands of donated clothing and organize them to create an easy and dignified way for clients to select clothes.
Please RSVP to Kelley Baldwin at kbaldwin@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9675.