Helpful Hands - Support Disaster Clients

A year after Sandy, our clients are still rebuilding their lives. For many, grants from FEMA or Build It Back don’t cover all of their continuing needs. Sign up to be contacted about opportunities to assist individuals with tasks like assembling furniture, organizing, packing/moving, helping to find new housing, or accompanying elderly or disabled individuals to important appointments.

Tasks may vary widely, so we need volunteers with all different skills & backgrounds. Ages 18 & up. Contact Alex at ashwarz@metcouncil.org or 212-453-9526 for more info.

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!

“Over 200 Met Council Volunteers Set for MLK Day!”

On January 16th, 2012, over 200 volunteers will join together to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of service. This year, Met Council has partnered with the Hunger Free Communities Consortium to distribute materials that encourage struggling New Yorkers to apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other entitlement benefits.

"Last year, we coordinated a similar outreach campaign and it was a huge success. according to SSUSA's analysis from July 2010 to Jan 2011, there was a 55% increase in the number of clients coming to Single Stop sites because of outreach flyers."

This service learning project will be targeting underserved neighborhoods throughout NYC – Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Our dedicated volunteers will be engaging in conversations and distributing information at local libraries, grocery stores, community centers and churches. A half-hour training session about public benefits and food access will be provided to the volunteers before the event.

Together, we will learn how increased access to public benefits such as Food Stamps can be a powerful tool to combating hunger and poverty in New York City. This is a hands-on learning service project that will have volunteers go out directly into the community and make an immediate impact. They have committed to making it a day on- not a day off!

In the afternoon, we are looking forward to reflecting with volunteers and celebrating the success of our day of service at 80 Maiden Lane!

As the late Dr. King once said-

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

As a tribute to his legacy, we will try to make sure that less people experience hunger in New York City this year.

We want to acknowledge all of our volunteers who chose to give back on this day!

Long-time Volunteer Gets Free Disney Pass

I’ve been volunteering with Met Council since 2006, and appreciate the variety of volunteer opportunities they provide. From building a library for residents at a women’s and children’s shelter in upper Manhattan to passing out food packages to Bukharian Jews in Queens, Met Council’s volunteer programs reflect the diversity of services the organization provides to poor and low-income New Yorkers of all backgrounds.

Most recently, some friends and I visited some of Met Council’s low-income housing sites for seniors in Manhattan and passed out flyers for a survey about on-site programming for the residents. It was really interesting getting to see the housing sites, which were all very well maintained, located in nice neighborhoods, and help longtime New York residents avoid being priced out of their neighborhoods. An added bonus was that this project qualifies my friends and I to each receive a one-day pass at Disney World! We are planning a trip for later this Spring.