Food Rescuers Needed for Kosherfest 2013!

Each year, Met Council is a grateful recipient of food and packages at the end of the annual Kosherfest trade show in Secaucus, NJ. This year, we need your help.

Met Council’s kosher food network is one of the largest in North America, with 5.2 million pounds of food distributed throughout the five boroughs every year. All food is certified kosher, making us a unique provider for the needy Jewish population. At the same time, all our nutritional resources are available to anyone in need, whether they keep kosher or not. Every pound of food rescued at Kosherfest means another meal on the table for someone in need!

Who: All able-bodied volunteers 18 and over
What: Rescue kosher goods for food pantries throughout the five boroughs of NYC
Where: 355 Plaza Drive (Meadowland Exposition Center), Secaucus, NJ 07094
When: 3 pm – 7 pm, October 30th, 2013

To get involved, please call 212-453-9691 or email volunteer@metcouncil.org!

October Volunteer of the Month - Kimberly Mobley

October Volunteer of the Month

 

Congratulations to Kimberly Mobley, our Volunteer of the Month for October 2013!

Kimberly has been very involved with Career Services' “All About Jobs” program. The program is designed for young adults to improve their job skills. Participating students receive computer training courses, career training, and an internship placement at Met Council. Kimberly was essential in elevating this program to new heights with her great work with the computer training classes.

Her involvement began early on, where she spearheaded the development of both the Microsoft Word and PowerPoint courses’ curriculums. Not only did she help develop these course materials, but she also led and taught four of the twelve training sessions! Her contributions and teachings to these students have enabled them to greatly improve their computer skills.

Thank you Kimberly once again for all of your great work with Met Council and congratulations!

Appreciation and AmeriCorps' 20th Anniversary!

Congratulations to AmeriCorps! 20 years later, they are proud of their 800,000 members and alumni clocking in over 1 BILLION service hours! Thomas Enrich, a former chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service contributed this great article about AmeriCorps to Forbes to commemorate this occasion.

 

Here at Met Council, we are fortunate to host 4 AmeriCorps members each year who help us coordinate hundreds of volunteers and thousands of service hours in NYC. Our volunteer programs wouldn't be possible without them. This year, our AmeriCorps members are Tiffany Doris, Jared Kunze, Anna McKinnon, and Abby Petterchak. Thank you for all the work you have done and will continue to do for the thousands of clients your programs benefit!

Get Ready: Emergency Prep with Seniors on 10/13

Join us in making Good Neighbor Bags on Sunday, October 13th as part of National Preparedness Month and to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.

When: 10/13/2013 from 2:30pm to 4pm
Where: Jewish Home Lifecare - 120 West 106th Street
Who: Families, groups and individuals welcome
What: As part of Jewish Social Action Month and Met Council's 40 for 40 initiative, ensure that vulnerable elders in our community are better prepared for future disasters. Volunteers and seniors will learn important emergency preparedness tools and work together to assemble "good neighbor bags" (emergency go bags) for clients in Met Council and Jewish Home residences.

The afternoon's activities will include:

• An interactive service learning orientation on emergency preparedness
• Escorting wheelchair-bound seniors to and from activities
• Aiding seniors to assemble 200 bags to be distributed to their fellow residents

This is a great opportunity for families, groups, and individuals of all ages who enjoy working with seniors. (Volunteers under 14 must be accompanied.)

RSVP: Register by October 9th at http://tinyurl.com/oct13service
Questions? Contact Simone at scarva@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9675

We hope to see you there! 

Coming Soon: Jewish Social Action Month!

Jewish Social Action Month

Coming Soon!

 

  The holiday season is coming to an end, but it is only the beginning of Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM). JSAM is a month meant to inspire the Jewish community to come together to promote volunteerism, service, and learning. By having many agencies and individuals coming together, the service for those in need will greatly increase, and help improve the lives of many people. For this year, JSAM will take place between October 5th and November 3rd.

For those who are unfamiliar with JSAM, the idea came about when two individuals came together to discuss how to promote Jewish identity for the younger generations. They felt that the current Jewish institutions and programs were losing touch with this generation within their communities. So, they decided the best way to go about doing this was to dedicate a month each year to service to help inspire the community. The month of Cheshvan was selected as the month of service because it came immediately after the High Holidays, which is a time when Jewish observance is generally higher.

To learn more about volunteering during Jewish Social Action Month, please e-mail volunteer@metcouncil.org.

 

Take action on 10/6 for Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Join us for Stand up for Shalom Bayit (peace in the home) on Sunday, October 6th to take action for Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

When: 10/6/2013 from 10:30am to 2pm
Where: UJA Federation of NY- 130 East 59th Street
Who: Volunteers must be 18+, groups and individuals welcome. 75 participant max.
What: Met Council for Jewish Social Action Month and for our 40 for 40 initiative, will bring together young professionals (20's-30's) of various backgrounds for a day of service to support victims of domestic violence (DV) through education and awareness. This will be a great opportunity to network with like-minded individuals while making an impact on the community.

The day's activities will include:

• An interactive workshop lead by our Family Violence staff to educate volunteers and debunk the myths of DV
• Hearing a firsthand account from a Met Council client affected by DV
• Assembling DV info kits on where individuals can get help
• Creating purple DV awareness ribbons for canvassing
• Hitting the streets to hand out the items you've created and spreading awareness

A light breakfast and coffee will be served- dietary laws observed.

RSVP: To participate, you must register by October 2nd at http://www.tinyurl.com/oct6service
Questions? Please contact Simone at scarva@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9675

We hope to see you there!

September 2013 Volunteer of the Month- Blake Brie

Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month for September 2013- Blake Brie!

Blake has been a volunteer with us for the past several months, devoting her time to creating and hosting weekly nutrition workshops for the seniors at our low-income residence. She has been an outstanding, friendly resource for our clients who turn to her for valuable health information. Thank you for your ongoing dedication!

Blake is a native New Yorker who currently works full-time at the NYU Clinical Cancer Center and attends NYU's Clinical Nutrition masters program part-time. With the little free time she has left, she has made it a priority to give back to the community in any way that she can. Which is how she stumbled upon Met Council opportunities and has since volunteered as a nutrition leader and has been trained to become a SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) pre-screener for weekends through the year!

When asked about her volunteer experiences, Blake says "It's always important to give back to the community, and if I can spread knowledge and awareness about the topic that is of most importance to me, then I definitely should!" She has found her volunteerism to be rewarding and as a learning experience where she has gotten over her fear of public speaking and answering difficult questions quickly on the spot. She has enjoyed her time meeting with clients one-on-one and looks forward to meeting more individuals by aiding them with nutrition lessons or screening their SNAP eligibility.

Our sincerest thanks and appreciation goes to Blake Brie on behalf of all Met Council clients, staff, and volunteers!