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.

USCJ Celebrates its Day of Chesed with Met Council

Volunteers from United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism spent the day volunteering with Met Council with 2 different projects that provided insight to the struggles faced everyday by members of the community that receive SNAP benefits. 

The first group of volunteers arrived at Met Council and participated in a program called Project Reach Out. Volunteers made follow up phone calls to clients that have received SNAP benefits from Met Council in the past in order to gauge client response of the services that have been provided. The USCJ reached out to over 80 clients resulting in a successful event that identified what needs are being met as well as the needs that members of the community are still struggling with. The volunteers gave positive feedback from the event, stating the phone calls provided a sense of realism to the ongoing struggles of people who receive SNAP benefits.

The second volunteer activity of the day was an event called SNAP Cooking. A different group of volunteers arrived at Met Council's Food Rescue Site; a place where food is distributed to members of the low-income community within the Lower East Site. From there, volunteers were given a budget to go grocery shopping with - except with a twist. The purpose of the budget is to simulate a scenario that teaches the volunteers the challenges of only having a certain amount of money to spend on food for an entire month. After the food was purchased, USCJ prepared the food, measuring out servings that indicated how many meals their budget provided to a family of four. All the food prepared was donated to Met Council Clients living on the Lower East Side.

Both were extremely successful events!

If any of these volunteer opportunities sound appealing or you'd like to be apart of Met Council's mission to ending poverty, please be in contact with the Volunteer Department. They can be reached at volunteer@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9508.  

Appointment Buddies!

Appointment Buddies is a direct way to help a home bound senior in need. Volunteers partner with senior clients to help them get to and from medical appointments. This program aims to offer assistance and support to our senior clients as well as to provide them with an important social network.

It is often a challenge for seniors to travel to and from appointments, and they are often forced to rely on inconsistent services that may get them to their appointments either late or hours before they begin. By participating in Appointment Buddies, the client will have a Met Council volunteer to travel with and get them to their appointment safely and at an appropriate time while also decreasing the feeling of loneliness.

If you would like more information about this amazing program that really reaches out to the community please e-mail us at volunteer@metcouncil.org or call Joey directly at 212-453-9675.

MVP Happy Hour

MVP Happy Hour at Ainsworth Park

MVP is a young professionals (20’s and 30’s) group who are looking for philanthropic and social opportunities. MVP brings a new voice to Met Council and engages young people in Met Council’s fundraising campaigns, volunteer opportunities, and advocacy efforts. MVP gives young professionals a role at Met Council and the opportunity to grow within the organization and the philanthropic community. MVP members bring value to Met Council through their planning and participation in volunteer activities and benefits. We aspire to see MVP members stay involved with Met Council for many years, eventually becoming long term donors, volunteers and board members. Get involved now!

If you cannot attend, you can still help by donating online.

Questions? Contact Stefanie Greenberg: Sgreenberg@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9619.

Open Bar: 7pm-9pm 

Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 

Time: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM 

Address:

111 E.18th Street

New York City, NY 10003 

United States

If you'd like to attend this event you can purchase tickets online.

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