The Kindness of Strangers

If you work with volunteers, random acts of kindness are an everyday occurrence. A large part of my job is spent communicating with people interested in giving their time freely to help fight poverty. But that doesn't mean it is no longer special when someone goes out of their way to lend a helping hand. And that is exactly what happened to me and Stefanie (your very own volunteer department) when we were stranded in Jamaica, Queens with our car's license plate hanging by a screw.

Stefanie and I were dropping of craft supplies for the Youth Enrichment Program - the weekend mentoring program we hold for homeless children every Sunday in Queens. When we parked to unload the trunk, I noticed a group of women pointing and laughing at our car. It didn't take long to discover what the joke was: our front plate was nearly coming off, held together by one loose screw. It looked like it could fall off at anytime, so we decided it would be best to get it repaired right away.

We were lucky to find an auto body shop after ten minutes of aimless driving. I pointed out the loose plates to the owner of the garage and asked him how much it would cost to repair (we, being from a social service agency, had a limited budget). He looked at me and, while smiling, called for his assistant to get a wrench. He then told us it was on-the-house.

So here we were, two volunteer coordinators in need of some assistance, and we were lucky enough to find yet another wonderful volunteer wiling to do the work pro-bono. It made both of our days! Which goes to show how people are volunteering their time and talents all the time to help out those in need.

So if you find yourself in Jamaica, Queens in need of auto repairs, I recommend you check out Lucky Auto Body on Liberty Avenue for friendly service!

Volunteering During Winter Break: Mimoza Januzi, Volunteer of the Month

When school was out for winter break, Mimoza did not relax at home like most of her peers. Instead she volunteered her time at Met Council, assisting low income seniors to get housing. Not many high school students exhibit the type of dedication and maturity that Mimoza Januzi has shown as a volunteer at Met Council. And for this reason we have named her Volunteer of the Month for March 2012!

Mimoza discovered Met Council as she was searching online for volunteer opportunities in geriatrics, a field that interests her as a future career. “I did many online searches and Met Council's mission caught my eye,” explains Mimoza. “I admire the organization for aiding many seniors who have limited resources.”

As a volunteer, Mimoza has served hot meals to seniors at our Senior Lunch Program and has spent over 150 hours working with our Housing Department providing administrative support to ensure that eligible seniors have a chance at receiving low income housing.

“You can always count on Mimosa to go the extra mile.” Temima Dublin, Director of Leasing, said. “We could not have accomplished all this without her help and are so grateful that she chose to volunteer at Met Council.”

Thanks to Mimoza’s hard work and compassion, hundreds of seniors have been aided in finding affordable housing and ensuring that they receive the community programming they need. We are so grateful for her time and work. Congratulations to Mimoza for being Volunteer of the Month!

Making New Friends While Volunteering by Guest Blogger Alana Tendler

When I walked into Met Council's Senior Lunch Program and saw a fellow volunteer who looked about my age I was very excited! Although NYC is filled with so many people, it is not easy to find friends with similar interests. Once Emily and I started sharing our backgrounds, we realized we had way more in common than either of us ever expected. Both of us are Jewish girls from New Jersey who have twin siblings. As if that wasn't enough, we both graduated from Syracuse University in 2009! Being active in our sororities and Hillel was something we were both committed to. Considering how many interests and shared experiences there are between Emily and I, it was so surprising that we had never met before!

These commonalities were interesting but not as exciting as the other aspects of life that Emily and I share. In New York City we both volunteer through Met Council and are members of the same women's group run by Gabrielle Bernstein. Emily works for Jewish Education Project – I observe a The Jewish People-hood Task Force at UJA. It still seems crazy that we had never met before participating in the Met Council Senior Lunch Program! One reason I love being part of different volunteer programs and nonprofit organizations is because I have the opportunity to meet people who I feel a connection with.

Since the Sunday morning introduction at Met Council's Senior Lunch Program, Emily and I have become great friends. She was a huge help collecting donations for an Items Drive I organized and executed for Met Council's Crisis Intervention and Family Violence program. Taking on the responsibility of being co-Volunteer Leaders at the Senior Lunch Program is something we are both passionate about. Engaging in conversation with the seniors is really fun and definitely more effective when we work together. Above all, I am thrilled to have a new friend in this hectic city! Our friendship has grown from volunteering together to a broad spectrum of shared experiences. We have brought our different groups of friends together and enjoy exploring Manhattan as an extended group of like-minded women. Thank you, Met Council, for bringing us together!

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

Yesterday, Met Council participated in the TeenLife Live 2012 Expo. Together with about 40 other local non-profit organizations, we exposed and engaged teens to volunteer opportunities available to them.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics teens are the least likely to volunteer out of any demographic. It was therefore exciting to see so many middle and high school aged students so ready to invest in their community, and rewarding to be able to provide ways for them to do so.

People often assume that teens lack the passion and resources to really be able to take ownership of their community. In New York, there is also the assumption that opportunities are hard to get to. At Met Council, we know that this is not true – there are many opportunities that young people can engage in and they are in all five boroughs. Here are just a few:

Senior Lunch Program: Serve hot kosher meals every Sunday to 20-25 low-income seniors at one of our housing sites in Kips Bay, Manhattan. Some volunteer duties include setting up, waiting on the clients, serving lunch, and – most importantly – socializing and promoting community building.

Masbia: Help out at our kosher soup kitchen to provide nutritious meals through serving or food preparation. The soup kitchen operates from Sunday to Thursday.

Benefits Outreach (great for school groups!): Spend a day or an hour in your neighborhood with your friends to spread awareness about public benefits that low-income individuals can receive from the government by putting up flyers in local restaurants and other public places.

Are you a teen? Would you like to get involved with and give back to your community? Where there is a will there is a way and Met Council is there to help you find it. Contact volunteer@metcouncil.org to get started!

The New Face of the Volunteer Department

The faces of Met Council’s volunteer department have changed! We’re extremely happy to present this year’s three new AmeriCorps members – Irijah, Jessica, and Simone - who will be working hard with you, our wonderful volunteers, to better serve New Yorkers in poverty.

Irijah Stennett is excited about working with the Met Council. She has over 15 years of experience in volunteering and servicing communities in New York City and Washington, DC through health as well as educational programs. She believes, by providing opportunities to people in need, we will expand on relationships with local leaders as well as gain support from the citizens we serve. Irijah will be focused on volunteer opportunities out in Brooklyn. She is sitting outside my office and can be reached at IStennett@metcouncil.org

Jessica Cheng will be working on career readiness volunteer programming. She is really excited! Jessica is a recent graduate of The College of New Jersey, where she studied English and Political Economy. But her passion has always been for non-profits and community outreach initiatives. For the past year, Jessica worked as Advocacy and Communications intern for AARP New Jersey to create positive legislative changes for the older adult community and promote volunteerism for those over 50 years old. Jessica is sitting outside my office and can be found at jcheng@metcouncil.org

Simone Carvalho is excited to start her yearlong adventure as an AmeriCorps Volunteer Coordinator with the Met Council where she will be working on food, nutrition, and wellness volunteer programs. Simone graduated this past May from Rutgers University with a BS in Management and a minor in Anthropology. Besides trying to be socially and environmentally conscious in everything she does, she doesn’t take herself so seriously and has a great sense of humor and passion for food. Simone can be reached at SCarvalho@metcouncil.org

For Seniors and Volunteers, Met Council’s Lunch Program Provides More Than A Free Meal

For more than a year, Met Council's volunteer-led Senior Lunch Program has been serving up hot meals and good company to low- income seniors living in Manhattan. The program is based at Met Council's Third Avenue residence, which boasts 10 studios, 38 one bedrooms and a live in super in the Kips Bay neighborhood. The lunch program takes place every Sunday and is open to all the residents who live there as well as those who live in any of Met Council's 10 other low- income senior residences in Manhattan.

Since it began, the Senior Lunch Program has been very popular with both volunteers and with the residents, who enjoy not only a nutritious and Kosher hot meal, but more importantly the opportunity to socialize with their neighbors and the volunteers. on any given Sunday, the second floor community room where the lunch is held brings together people from a wide variety of backgrounds- including residents who are immigrants from Eastern Europe, China, and Latin America- as well as volunteer groups that vary in age, ethnicity and gender.

Stefanie Greenberg, Met Council's Volunteer Department Manager, explained that the program fosters an important sense of community among seniors. "This is not a nursing home or an assisted living facility," she explained. "It's simply affordable housing for seniors. For the most part they live independent, but Met Council wants to create a nice environment for them [to live in]...The lunch program gives the seniors an opportunity to come together with their neighbors once a week and catch up over a nice meal. If a regular [attendee] misses a meal or hasn't been seen in a day or two, their friends will know to look in on them."

It also provides an ongoing opportunity for volunteers looking for meaningful service opportunities. "It's a very concrete project with clear tasks," said Greenberg. "Greeting the seniors as they arrive, preparing and serving the food, and interacting with the seniors- there is something for everyone to do and at the end of the day everyone feels like they have accomplished something worthwhile. "

If you would like to be a part of this great program please contact the volunteer department at volunteer@metcouncil.org

Recognizing Nelson Mandela's Birthday

In honor of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, which the UN General Assembly declared as Nelson Mandela International Day, everyone is encouraged to carry out 67 minutes of volunteer work. Why 67, you ask? This was the total number of years that Mr. Mandela committed to serving the greater good of the world as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa. Although 67 minutes does not do justice to an outstanding 67 years, it still makes all the difference.

Some people may find that 67 minutes of direct volunteer work is hard to come by, due to the demands of their busy schedules. This should not excuse them from devoting an hour and 7 minutes of their time to charity work, especially now that organizations offer the opportunity to volunteer from the comfort of their own homes! For example, one can help an organization design a flyer, edit a blog post, provide business or legal expertise or even make a friendly phone call to a lonely senior citizen, all of which can help change our world for the better.

Given today’s economic climate and cutting of human services, everyone should feel a sense of obligation to participate in some form of volunteerism. Whether it’s online or in person, 67 minutes or 67 years, we encourage you to volunteer!

How to Make the Perfect Ice Cream Sundae

Last week, Met Council volunteers learned an important skill that they will treasure for ever - how to make the perfect ice cream sundae!

New York City's temperatures have been set to boil this July, so our department decided that it was high time for the 3rd annual Cool Off in July party for low income seniors. Every summer, we invite senior residents to escape the heat by coming to the Cool Off in July party - hosted by volunteers - which serves ice cream, fresh fruit, cool beverages.


Below is volunteers' collective wisdom on how to make the perfect ice cream sundae:

1. Have a healthy selection of ice cream flavors (we chose vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip)

2. Add chocolate sauce to top of three flavors of ice cream

3. Add generous dose of rainbow sprinkles

4. Add fresh fruit like strawberries or cherries

5. Don't forget the most important ingredient . . .

And so what is the most important ingredient to the Cool Off in July Sundaes? Hint: it isn't the sprinkles or chocolate sauce. The most important ingredient was the friendly smiles and great conversation volunteers gave senior residents to accompany the ice cream. There's nothing quite like an ice cream served with a warm smile on a hot summer day!

Starting young: the importance of child volunteers

Experts say that it’s important to start learning skills like math, music, and languages at an early age . . . but what about community service? If a child learns to volunteer at a young age, will he or she be a better volunteer later in life?

Okay, I’m a volunteer coordinator and not a social scientist. I can only report on my own experiences combined with a good dose of common sense. And lately, I’ve had many an opportunity to observe younger volunteers at work.

On Sunday morning I coordinated another gardening project that was billed as a family-friendly volunteer opportunity, so lots of kids and parents came out to help. I was a little taken-aback by how young the kids were (between ages 3-6). I was worried about whether we’d complete the project in time but trusted that the parents knew their child’s abilities better than I did. This definitely proved to be the case.

At first it was fairly obvious that the kids didn’t want to volunteer on a Sunday morning (Sundays are after all prime cartoon time). But over the course of the project, the kids began to be more engaged and less apprehensive.

One of the older girls was in charge of checking every flower to see which ones needed water and I’ve never come across a more enthusiastic waterer! She made sure no plant went thirsty, and sometimes I had to reign in her exuberance for the sake of the flowers. Similarly a three-year old boy was so excited when he was asked to collect the garden tools that he started to take the trowels out of people’s hands!

By the end, the kids were scrambling over who got to do what and totally involved in the project. Although these kids were made to volunteer by their parents, they ended up working hard because they began to understand how good it feels to help others. And in my profession, it’s very encouraging to see young kids loving volunteer work!

So the hypothesis was tested, sort of. I guess to truly test my theory I would need to contact these kids in twenty years to see if they volunteer more than the average adult. This probably won’t happen . . . but tune in to our blog in twenty years to find out! I however feel fairly confident in saying that these kids have started to cultivate a lifelong passion for volunteerism.

Were three-year-olds the best gardeners a volunteer coordinator could wish for? Well . . . they were certainly the cutest. And seeing young kids get their hands dirty to help low income seniors warmed my heart and made me more optimistic about the future of volunteerism.

Even the Mayor Volunteers

There is more riding on the World Series then just the title. The two opposing mayors have made a bet where everyone comes out a winner. Mayor Bloomberg from New York and Mayor Nutter from Philadelphia have agreed that the mayor of the loosing city’s team will travel to the winner’s city to do a volunteer project. We applaud their commitment to service and there ability to combine it with something they love- sports.

To read more check out:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/24411/

Volunteer Profile: Jamell Joseph

Met Council volunteer, Jamell Joseph, held a Back-to-School Items Drive for our low income clients in Crisis Intervention and Family Domestic Violence. Jamell collected over 70 items of brand-new school supplies to be distributed to low income families.

Thank you to Jamell and everyone who donated to Met Council’s Back-to-School Items Drive! Your acts of charity enabled Met Council to perform deeds of kindness.

If you would like to host your own supply drive, Met Council is looking for volunteers to hold Emergency Kit Supply Drives as part of the nationwide United We Serve campaign. Please contact Julia Sherman at jsherman@metcouncil.org or (212)456-9526 if you are interested in helping out in this important initiative.

Homeless Count

One night, every year New York City's Department of Homeless Services counts the homeless population in order to increase accountability and improve programming targeted towards homeless New Yorkers. On the night of January 26th, 2,500 volunteers, throughout every borough will count the homeless sleeping on the streets, subways and subway stations. Volunteers will work in teams of three and be accompanied by a police officer throughout the night of the count. Training will be provided before your teams is sent out at 10:30PM, and most teams finish surveying their assigned area by 2AM.
More information can be found at the HOPE webpage. If you sign up via the HOPE web page please indicate that they are volunteering through Met Council by selecting the our name under the question, “Are you associated with a member of the NYC Continuum of Care?”

If you are interested in participating in the count, please contact Stefanie Greenberg at 212.453.9619 or sgreenberg@metcouncil.org

Family Volunteer Day

The HandsOn Network and Disney have teamed up to promote Family Volunteer Day, held annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was created to demonstrate the power of families who choose to volunteer together to support the communities in which they live. Volunteering as a family provides quality time for busy families, strengthens communication and bonds and positively impacts local communities across the nation. And it gives you something important to talk about at Thanksgiving dinner! Check out family friendly volunteer events in your neighborhood.

Have you, or do you now volunteer with your family? If you used to, do you think it impacted the amount of volunteering you have done later in your life?

Small cute children need your attention

While their parents are learning how to dress for success, these kids need someone play with! Play, have fun, gain a reference for future babysitting jobs and convince your parents of how responsible you really are.

November 18th, 5:30pm-7pm
December 3rd, 5:30pm-7pm
December 10th, 5:30pm-7pm
December 17th, 5:30pm-7pm

Get Involved! Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

Project Fashion Wise
Help our Career Services clients buy new clothing for interviews and jobs. We want our clients to receive the best advice of how to dress for an interview or office job as well as tips on how to keep up their appearance and general hygiene. This is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge and really help these clients become successful in the work place, we all know that when we look good, we feel good. Part of this project is having you go shopping with the clients and help them pick out the best clothes for the job!

November 16th, 11am to 4pm at Met Council
November 18th, 5:30pm at Met Council (Women only)
November 24th, 5:30pm at Met Council (Men only)

Thanksgiving Dinner
Got kitchen skills? Like to eat? We are throwing a Thanksgiving dinner party for the Seniors at our Lexington Ave housing residence, and we need you to help cook, set up, serve and of course enjoy the meal with the residents!

November 23rd- help cook the food at one of our sites in Manhattan.
November 24th, 5:30pm - Set up, serve and enjoy at 171 Lexington Ave

Home Attendant Graduation
Our Home Attendants are graduating! Come join the party and make the night special for them by serving snacks and give a hearty cheer.

November 25th, 4:30pm at Met Council

Do it Yourself Food Drive

Met Council and the Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE) have been working together more and more. Most recently the folks at MJE sponsored a food drive that benefited Metro House, our low income housing site in the Bronx for people with physical or mental disabilities. We and the residents at Metro House thank them for their hard work!

Does organizing people and food or clothes to benefit those in need sound interesting? Met Council can give you some pointers about how to set up a successful drive.

Pick an item you will be able to get
For example, if you live in an apartment with many young couples, have a drive for baby supplies.
Have clear regulations
If you ask for clothes, make sure that every flyer says “new or very gently used clothes.” If you ask for toys, make sure to specify that they canʼt have batteries. If you ask for food, make sure to say that it has to be kosher. If you ask for books, make sure to specify an age group.
Publicize!
Put up flyers by the water coolers, in the cafeteria, in the elevators, on the stairs, in bathroom stalls,in the lobby, and anywhere else that has high foot traffic. Print your flyers on bright paper or with bright colors so that they will get peopleʼs attention.
Contact!
Send emails to your friends, people who live in your building and colleagues so that they all know when and where they can go to drop off their donations.
Get help!
If you are doing a drive at work, ask people in different departments to help publicize and promote the drive. If you are at an apartment, ask your doorman to tell people when they walk in about the item drive. If you have a co-op board ask the president to send an email to everyone in your building.
Create incentives to entice people to donate
Give a prize to whoever brings in the most items, or buy lunch for the person who donates the most. Get your boss to shave his head if 200 cans of tuna are brought in. Do anything that you think may make people donate.

Has anyone else done a drive before? Do you have anything to add to this list? What made yours successful or not?

Please contact the Volunteer Department if this sounds like something you want to be involved in!

Make a Difference Day

USA Weekend and Newman's Own are sponsoring the 18th Annual Make a Difference Day this Saturday, October 25th. Make A Difference Day is the largest national day of helping others; a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate in as many ways as you can imagine. Newman’s Own will donate $10,000 to 10 different projects! Can't think of a way to participate? Check out the Idea Generator and examples of what other volunteers are doing.

Volunteering: easier than eatting pie

Do you only hear about the volunteer events after they happened? Do you read this blog and say, "Hey! That Spring planting/Shabbat packaging/library building looked wicked fun! Why didn't I know about it?" Well, my dear blog friends, do not be left out of the volunteer loop anymore! All of our volunteer events are posted here, on our Facebook page, as well as on our website, and, if you are a friend of Maiden Lane on Facebook, you don't even have to do any work to find out when the next volunteer event is; we will send you an invite with all the important information! How much easier could it get?

Volunteers Needed: Resume Review for Home Attendant Students

Our Home Attendant students are ready to enter the work force! But first they all need stellar resumes to impress future employers with. We need your help to review their resumes, give pointers and brainstorm snappy eye catching verbs that will land them an interview.

This is a great opportunity for Professionals and English Majors alike. Or anyone else who is educated, computer skills, patient, has good listening skills and a friendly manner.

We are doing this event on both October 23rd and October 27th from 5-6. Come to one or both!

Does this sound like something you would like to do? Please RSVP at ahowe@metcouncil.org or call Abbie at 212.453.9653.

Description of Home Attendant Program:
Met Council helps individuals become certified Home Attendants by teaching them how to provide the frail and elderly with assistance in washing, dressing, shopping, cooking, and other essential daily-living tasks. The Met Council curriculum is specifically tailored to immigrants from the former Soviet Union and provides ESL support as well as targeted job placement. Many of the students in this program do not have a resume and do not know how to write one. With the help of volunteers, our clients are able to create a high-quality resume that will help the student obtain a home attendant job and apply for future employment.