Budding Photo Journalists Snap Shots of Dreams

Pictures of Hope!

On Friday the children of Hillside House were selected to participate in Pictures of Hope.  As some of you already know, award-winning photojournalist and author, Linda Solomon, brought her nationally acclaimed program “Pictures of Hope” to Queens to empower the homeless children at Met Council’s Hillside House to use photography to reach for their dreams and expand their hopes for the future.  In time for the holidays, the photos will be used on greeting cards sold to benefit our programs.  

It was a great day for the children and wonderful example of collaboration within Met Council.  Friday’s event was promoted on NY1. Please find the link below (you need a Time Warner account to sign in).  Producers for the upcoming nationwide Meredith Vieria Show were there too. The segment will air in the fall.

http://www.ny1.com/content/211327/budding-photojournalists-snap-shots-of-dreams/

Pictures of Hope

Met Council is proud to be participating this year in the program Pictures of Hope, a life changing event for children that allows the participants to capture their hopes and dreams through the art of photography. Pictures of Hope is a special opportunity for children living in homeless shelters that will build self-esteem and show the children the importance of "HOPE".  The way it works is the selected participants are given an orientation by world renowned photographer, Linda Solomon that teaches them the basics of using a professional camera. After the orientation is complete, the children are paired off with volunteer mentors to think of what visuals could represent their hopes and dreams.

The pairs then go out into the field and try to find the perfect setting to capture each of the children’s respective life goals. Mentors are needed for children to provide them with ideas and also to remind them about the parameters of the project (pictures of other people’s faces are not allowed). Once the event is over all pictures are submitted back to Linda Solomon. This is done because the pictures from each child are turned into a holiday greeting card that will be revealed at an unveiling party in October. Mentors will be invited back to this party though it’s not mandatory for you to come.

In order to ensure that all of the children will be able to participate in the program, Walgreens has donated a camera for each of the children to keep. They will be surprised with this gift at the end of the orientation.

Pictures of Hope is a life changing experience that impacts the lives of all the participants. If you would like to be involved please contact Joey at 212-453-9675 or you can e-mail him at jcanor@metcouncil.org. 

Fancy Food Show!

Met Council is offering volunteers an opportunity to be a part of the Summer Fancy Food Show!

The Fancy Food Show is North America’s largest Specialty Food & Beverage Event with over 180,000 products including confections, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural, organic and more. Over 2,400 exhibitors from 80 countries & regions will be present throughout the three day event to display their specialties.

Met Council is providing an opportunity for volunteers to partner with City Harvest on July 1st at the Javits Center to assist with the food show. Volunteers will report to their respective team leaders at 2:30 PM and help sort perishable and non-perishable food items that will be donated to Met Council’s Food Warehouse in Canarsie, Brooklyn.  All of the food donated from the Fancy Food Show will be distributed to needy New Yorkers through Met Council’s Kosher Food Pantry Network.

Due to the unique factor of all the food Met Council distributes is Kosher, an existing knowledge of Kosher Food Items is helpful for this volunteer project but not necessary. Volunteers will be expected to arrive in sneakers and comfortable clothing as you will be on your feet for most of the day. A kosher lunch will be provided to all volunteers that sign up through Met Council so please arrive promptly at 2:30 PM for lunch and expect to be assisting until 7:00 PM.  

Come be a part of this event where you’ll get to witness firsthand cuisines from around the world while helping the hungry in the process! For more information please contact the Volunteer Department at volunteer@metcouncil.org or call us at 212-453-9508.

Deloitte Impact Day!

This past Friday, volunteers from Deloitte Consulting Services came to Met Council to volunteer their time and lend us their expertise. The 18 volunteers split up into two groups of 9 which saw one group reach out to clients who Met Council has helped enroll in SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the others participating in a Financial Services Workshop.

Upon arriving, the Deloitte volunteers learned first hand about all of Met Council's services, and most importantly the task they would be doing that day. The group performing the Financial Services Workshop collaborated together and came up with revisions to how Met Council can better their enrollment process. After breaking down into groups, the volunteers came together to share ideas on what the best template was to present to Met Council staff. Upon agreement, the Deloitte team of consults presented their version of the client intake form that would be the most conducive to Met Council.

The other group strayed away from the staff and instead outreached to Met Council clients; learning first hand about the people helped by Met Council services. The volunteers participated in an ongoing project where individuals and groups call clients to gauge the services Met Council has provided for them. Through this program volunteers speak with clients directly, going through a survey of questions to expose problem areas that are still present.

The group from Deloitte were amazed and humbled when learning the stories of clients, with one saying how much it put their lives into perspective. It was an extremely successful day with both Met Council and volunteers learning together on how we can further enhance the lives of the population.