With Rosh Hashana approaching, it's now time to devise your yearly New Year's resolution list. This year, instead of opting for the cliche "lose 5 pounds," why not spend your time volunteering. As an AmeriCorps member, who has spent this past year serving my community, I have seen the positive results that come from leveraging volunteers to help out those less fortunate. I have recruited 376 volunteers, educated them on hunger and homelessness in our community, and worked together with them to remedy this situation.

Come join Met Council's volunteer team and be number 377. We have a variety of different volunteer opportunities for people of all ages. From serving food to low income seniors to painting a homeless shelter and helping clients get back into the job market, we can cater to your specific interests and find a project just right for you!

Check out www.metcouncil.org/volunteer and make this year count! Shana Tova and have a happy and healthy new year--- from Met Council's volunteer department.

Looking for a job?

Looking for a job? Maybe just a career change? Well volunteering is an effective avenue to career success. Not only is volunteering a way to better your community and yourself, a way to make new friends and learn a new skill, but it is now a proven way to be a better job candidate. Linkedin has just created a field for volunteer experience to be added to your profile. They conducted a study that showed 41% of hiring managers consider volunteer work to be equal to experience in a paid position.

In Met Council's experience we have learned that volunteering often leads to jobs. We have served as a way to learn new skills for a career change or for college and grad school applications. Our staff has been asked to be references for job applications. We have even hired a few of our volunteers and interns.

As you know Met Council is here to help you if you are looking for any type of volunteer experience. We offer a very wide variety of skilled and unskilled volunteer opportunities. If your interested in volunteering to change your life or some else's please e-mail volunteer@metcouncil.org and we will be happy to set you up with a meaningful volunteer opportunity.

Our Senior Fitness Community is Growing!

Our Fitness Program for low-income seniors in Brooklyn started out humbly. We had two regular clients who would come every week and every now and again a curious resident would stop in to watch. But as time has gone by word of mouth has spread, friends are telling friends, and our seniors can tell that this Fitness Class is here to stay and more and more are coming.

Before:

After:

Our seniors are looking good and feeling good, and many have said that they are happy this class exists, as in the coming months as it gets colder many of them will have a harder time going outside to get exercise. As the weather gets colder and meaner, a slippery sidewalk will discourage many from leaving the house to take a healthy walk around the neighborhood. Luckily, they will have their weekly fitness class to keep them active.

To get invovled in this program or any of our other great programs please contact volunter@metcouncil.org

Getting Seniors into Affordable Housing: David Kohn, Volunteer of the Month

When school was out for summer, David Kohn decided that he wanted to make a difference in the community in his spare time. He heard about Met Council through a family friend and inquired about volunteer opportunities. At the time, Met Council’s housing department was in the middle of the application process for the newly built senior housing site, Council Towers VI. David had perfect timing and immediately went to work helping manage the hundreds of applicants for the new building.

Over the course of the summer, David transcribed hundreds of messages, kept track of the requests for applications, and mailed them to seniors across New York City. The project culminated in September with the lottery for Council Towers VI where the applications where randomly selected to determine who gets first choice.

“We could not have accomplished everything without David,” Temima Dublin, Director of Leasing, said. “He worked tirelessly and always with a smile.”

But David didn’t stop there; besides helping administrate affordable housing applications, David also volunteered at the Senior Lunch Program which provides hot kosher meals to seniors at one of Met Council’s low income housing sites.

“The most rewarding part of being a volunteer is knowing that you are giving back and helping others,” David reflected. Thanks to volunteers like David, our volunteer department continues to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of seniors.

Vote For Monita!!

Please join us in showing Monita Buchwald how much her work with Met Council means to our community by voting for her at http://www.jewishcommunityheroes.org/nominees/profile/monita-buchwald/. It's really simple and will take you only 20 seconds. Just click vote now followed by vote for your nominee here and then fill out all the necessary information. Remember to vote every 12 hours!

One of our outstanding volunteers, Monita Buchwald, had been nominated by the Jewish Federations of North America for the Jewish Community Heroes Award. Monita has been recognized for this honor as a result of her commitment to Met Council, to remedy homelessness and hunger in NYC.

Specifically, she has been actively involved in helping low income New Yorkers become more self sufficient through food and career readiness education. She has led healthy cooking classes and nutrition workshops for low income seniors at our housing sites around the city. In addition she has participated in numerous job readiness workshops aimed at improving the networking skills and resumes of our clients in search of employment.

We all greatly appreciate the work Monita has done for Met Council, the Jewish Community and NYC as a whole!

9/11 Remember Through Service

Yesterday, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, meant a lot of different things to different people: loss, resilience, heroism, the coming together of communities, and of course a time to serve. In New York City, these feelings were palpable as the city remembered and reflected on the tragedy that occurred a decade ago.

Amidst the high emotions and security alerts, dozens determined Met Council volunteers across the city came out to mark this day with deeds of kindness. For this year's National Day of Service and Remembrance, Met Council hosted several emergency preparedness fairs across Manhattan and Brooklyn that aimed to provide low income senior citizens with the resources and materials they might need for different emergency situations.

By the end of the day, 23 volunteers educated 48 seniors at 4 housing sites on the proper responses to such events as hurricanes, power outages, and extreme heat as well as helped make resources such as to-go kits and medical ID cards.

Although many of our volunteers and senior residents found it difficult to revisit the tragedy, they felt gratitude that they had this chance to once again come together as New Yorkers did in the aftermath of terror.

Colder months mean seniors need extra-warm volunteers!

On a cool, rainy day like today, you can't help but think that fall and winter are quickly approaching. It may still be summer according to our calendars, but it sure doesn't feel like it anymore. Now, more than ever the seniors of our community need companionship.

Did you know a senior is more likely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder than the average person? During the colder months a little volunteering can make a big difference. Spending an occasional hour with a senior can really brighten their day.

During the summer, we always have lots of volunteers. So many students are out of school and looking for a good way to spend their time. Others just feel like they have more free time, even if they work full time, just because the sun is out longer. But as summer draws to a close, volunteers tend to go back to their jobs and schools too. But it's important to remember, this is when seniors need companionship most! And don't worry, if you volunteer to spend time with a senior, they'll let you know how much they appreciate it. It is anything but a thankless task!

So take a look at our volunteer opportunities and sign up today!