A Leader in Food Justice: Emily Silman, Volunteer of the Month

Nutrition and food justice have always been important issues to Emily Silman. So when she went to a food politics conference at Columbia University and saw Met Council’s kosher food network booth, she decided she wanted to get involved.

“It was the first time I’d heard of a Jewish-focused food charity in New York City,” Emily recalls, “and I loved hearing that they took care of hungry Jewish New Yorkers, especially those who keep kosher.”

Fitting with her interests, Emily earned her stripes as a volunteer by handing out fresh chickens for 6 hours during the Passover Food Distribution event for families who have been victims of domestic violence. The Volunteer Department was so impressed with her commitment (not just anyone would hand out chicken for 6 hours) that she was quickly invited to become a volunteer leader for the Senior Lunch Program.

Since that time, Emily has staffed groups of volunteers once a month to serve hot kosher meals to low income seniors at a Met Council housing site. As a volunteer leader, Emily’s responsibilities include supervising volunteers, teaching them about Met Council, as well as ensuring that the lunch program runs smoothly and effectively.

“It’s great to be able to introduce people to Met Council for the first time,” said Emily. “Most of the volunteers from the groups I work with are new to Met Council, but as soon as they hear what we do and volunteer with us for the first time they say “I want to come back!””

In addition to leading volunteers, Emily has also taken a leadership role as an active member of the MVP Planning Committee, which steers a group of dedicated and motivated young professional who are committed to Met Council’s mission of fighting poverty in New York City.

Thanks to her hard work and dedication, Emily has ensured that Met Council clients gain access to the services they need to fight poverty and hunger in New York City.

Sandwich Shoppe Event!

On Sunday, February 27th, the Young Professional Group (YPG) of Park Avenue Synagogue teamed up Met Council in holding a Sandwich Shoppe at our E 61st Street senior housing site. This was YPG's first volunteer project as a group and what a fabulous way to debut their philanthropic efforts!

At the program, the volunteers were assigned specific roles so that everything ran smoothly and all attendees were accounted for. One person greeted the residents as they walked in, while other volunteers were assigned the roles of wait staff, servers, and/or 'socializers.' The residents were greeted with a warm welcome by one of the volunteer's children, who gave residents a menu as they walked in. The wait staff then took their sandwich orders, which were then given to the servers to make the sandwiches.

Constant conversation took place between the volunteers and residents, as well as among the residents themselves. Not only were we providing a free meal for the residents, but this was a great way to foster a sense of community in our pursuit of strengthening the relationships among the residents.

Based on the feedback of the volunteers and residents, the event was a huge success!

Some couples go out to dinner for their anniversary; instead, Jody and Eric Steinhardt served dinner to low income seniors for their 23rd wedding anniversary.

Jody, a Met Council employee, along with her husband, Eric, have been volunteering at Met Council’s Senior Lunch Program monthly since the program first began. When they both realized that they were scheduled to volunteer during their anniversary, they embraced it as an opportunity.

“We both decided that there was no better way to celebrate our anniversary than giving back,” said Eric as he took a break from plating Salisbury steak for the residents.

As a surprise for Jody, Eric covertly ordered a cake for their anniversary to give to her at the end of the program to share with the residents. After the surprise was sprung and Jody and Eric were thanked for their outstanding dedication, everybody enjoyed a piece of cake together in celebration.

Thank you to Eric and Jody for their continuing dedication and commitment to Met Council. It meant so much to the volunteer department that you chose to celebrate your 23 years together with us! We wish you many more happy years to come!

Josh Dienstag - Our Volunteer of the Month

As a way of saying thank you, Met Council presents Josh Dienstag with our Volunteer of the Month Award. Josh’s journey took him from his hometown of Boston to take a job as the partner at a hedge fund in Manhattan, and set roots down in our fair city; he has done all of this so he could spend time as the volunteer leader for Met Council’s Mock Interview Workshop. (He also moonlights at our Resume Review Workshop.)

Josh comes to us through NY Cares and brings a group of volunteers each month to work with clients on their interviewing skills. Each client brings two copies of their resume as well as a copy of a job posting that they are qualified for. 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.

When asked about his feelings on the importance of volunteering, Josh explained, “Income and education gaps keep widening, which means that those less fortunate need more help than ever. Volunteering is even more important during a recession when unemployment is high. Volunteers keep coming back because they find our workshops so engaging; the clients inspire me because they are willing to be vulnerable, both by admitting they need career help and by receiving constructive criticism. One of the most rewarding parts of being a volunteer is seeing some of the Met Council clients go on to get jobs.”

Thank you Josh for the time, effort, and skill you bring to Met Council monthly!

BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS INSTRUCTOR NEEDED

Four classes a month; minimum 3 month commitment Mon - Thurs 6PM-7:30PM (subject to volunteer’s schedule)80 Maiden Lane, 22nd floor, NYC

Have you always had the desire to teach but never had the opportunity? Teach basic computer literacy to foreign-trained nurses in exam prep workshops located in the swanky financial district. Prepare learners to take the state nursing exam which is given electronically at NYC testing centers. Training and materials will be provided.

For more information or to get involved, please contact Shifra Elman at 212-453-9648 or email her at Selman@metcouncil.org.

Brown Bag: P&B Sandwiches Style

UJA-Federation of New York's Lawyer’s Division took time out of their busy site visit to volunteer for Met Council. Volunteers made over 40 peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches packaged in beautifully decorated brown-bags. These sandwiches were distributed later that day to several low income senior clients in need. In this cold weather, we hope the homey comfort of P&B sandwiches serves to keep our low income senior clients happy and warm.

The Social Importance of the Internet

Based on the article, “'The Social Side Of The Internet': Web Users More Likely To Volunteer, Study Shows ,” internet users are more likely to be involved in volunteer activities than their non internet-user counterparts. This is not surprising, considering how socially involved most people are via the internet. It has become the hub of many a party invitation, advertisement, current event, and direct social interaction.

Statistics show that “80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users. Moreover, social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are group participants.”

Generation Y (people born between 1977 and 1990): I strongly encourage you to spread your “internet knowledge” to those who might be intimidated by or not familiar with this new wave of technology innovation. Hint: take a look at our ever-growing baby boomer generation and beyond. Show them how to navigate the web, while stressing the importance of this incredible resource.

Volunteer programs, in particular, have significantly grown and flourished due to their use of internet marketing. For example, the internet has become one of Met Council’s key tools in volunteer recruitment, as it has helped to pique the interests of those who otherwise would not have necessarily been informed about our volunteer opportunities.

Check out Met Council news, videos and more at www.metcouncil.org and get involved on our Facebook page!