December 2013 Volunteer of the Month - Ginghamsburg Church Youth Ministry

Congratulations to Ginghamsburg Church Youth Ministry, our Volunteer of the Month for December 2013!

This group of enthusiastic teens from Tipp City, Ohio brought their energy to several of our projects earlier this month during an annual service trip to NYC. They travel regularly to several locations every year to participate in community service projects in the U.S. and abroad.

The teens split into smaller groups between several activities on Thursday, December 5th: canvassing in the Bronx to inform people about public benefits; canvassing in the Rockaways with information about disaster case management; and joining seniors at our residence in Sea Gate, Brooklyn to celebrate Hanukkah with coffee, jelly doughnuts, dreidels, and conversation. All told, they disseminated nearly a thousand fliers and entertained over a dozen clients at our residence for low-income seniors. Each of these communities was impacted by the group's invaluable help.

Thank you all once again for your help and great work!

Volunteer Today, Health Benefits Tomorrow

A new study shows that volunteering within your community can be beneficial for your health!

The study, entitled "Doing Good is Good for You", was sponsored by United Health Group and conducted among those who have volunteered at some point within the past twelve months, shows that becoming involved in your community can have tangible health benefits.

Our of more than 3,000 survey respondents, 76% said volunteering made them feel healthier, and 78% said that volunteering lessens feelings of stress. My personal favorite statistic is that 96% of people who gave back to their communities at some point in the past year felt an enriched sense of purpose in life, and just as many truly felt they were making a difference.

The study goes even further, pointing out that employers who instill a sense of volunteerism in their employees tend to see their efforts returned in the workplace, as volunteering can improve upon time management skills, communication, and interpersonal relationships. Many volunteers use professional skills in their volunteer positions, and about three quarters of respondents said that volunteering improved their competitiveness in the workplace in some way.

Met Council offers many opportunities to reap some of these benefits, so what are you waiting for? Or, share your volunteer success story in the comments!

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.

A Year After Sandy

On October 29, 2012, residents of Met Council's low-income senior housing in Sea Gate, Brooklyn - just a few blocks from the beach - evacuated their homes as Hurricane Sandy arrived. It was over two months by the time all the residents had returned, and repairs are still ongoing.

Yesterday, volunteers from investorsBank joined our Sea Gate clients to mark the one-year anniversary in a unique way. To celebrate how far they've come in the past year, residents and volunteers threw a lively luau dance party.

Clients, volunteers & staff joined in a lively conga line

The party gave everyone a much-needed dose of positive energy, and clients, staff, and volunteers alike had lots of fun. Our thanks to investorsBank for making this important event possible!

A Met Council Success Story

Michael G., a new Met Council Career Services client, recently signed up for all of our Job Readiness Workshops. He walked shyly into our Professional Networking Workshop, which teaches basic skills on how to market oneself to potential employers as well as make relevant connections in social settings. With the help and advice of our volunteers, he walked out of the room confident in his ability to talk to and engage employers.

Indeed, there has not yet been a client who attended our Job Readiness workshops without feeling more confident about their abilities than when they first walk through our doors; regardless of how reluctant they may have been to initially attend, every single client has commented that the workshops helped them tremendously in their job readiness skills.

It is often hard for volunteers to see the fruits of their labor in these programs since they do not see clients apply these skills in real-life situations. That makes it extra special when we get to see the direct benefits of our work. About a week later, Michael called to cancel all future workshop registrations and appointments: he had found a stable high-paying job in the field he specialized in and for a large company! The only appointment he has now is to come in next week and offer a huge thanks.

This kind of a success story is due in large part to the patience, dedication, and caliber of our volunteers, who are executives and professionals in their fields, coming from companies like Google, Wall Street Journal, and CBS.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Michael and THANKS to all of our volunteers!

Do you want to be a part of our next success story? Contact volunteer@metcouncil.org to get involved!

Appointment Buddies Needed!

Appointment Buddies is a program that matches volunteers to our senior clients. Volunteers are expected to assist a senior client in traveling to and from various appointments. This program aims to offer assistance and support to our senior clients. By providing a volunteer to travel with our clients to their appointments, Met Council is assured that they are receiving the care that they need. 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 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.

If you are interested, please contact Malwina Andruczyk at 212.453.9526 or mandru@metcouncil.org for more details.

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.

Thanksgiving Dinner with Low Income Seniors

On Sunday, November 21st, the Met Council Volunteer Department’s annual Thanksgiving extravaganza mobilized over 40 volunteers to feed a traditional turkey dinner to 60 low income senior clients at two Manhattan housing sites. This year we were bigger than ever – doubling our programming to reach more clients at more Met Council community locations.

The day began early on Sunday morning with volunteers from Met Council’s Valuable Players (MVPs), a group of young dedicated leaders in their 20s and 30s. MVP volunteers cooked dinner for 60 in our kosher kitchen and made a traditional Thanksgiving meal that included turkey, string beans, sweet potato and cranberries, parsnip-apple mash, and salad.

After the meal was done, individual volunteers and a UJA-Federation volunteer group served dinner at two of our low income senior housing sites in Manhattan. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, volunteers and clients got together to foster a sense of community and giving.

None of this could have happened without Monita Buchwald, the supervising chef who created the menu, came up with the list of ingredients, executed the cooking, and instructed the volunteers. Monita, a recipe tester for Martha Stewart Living, had been a dedicated volunteer with Met Council and has leaded many cooking classes for our clients.

Click here to see more photos of the event. Our holiday programming is not over yet - to get more involved email volunteer@metcouncil.org. Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Volunteering

On Christmas Eve, eight of Met Council’s outstanding volunteers hosted a holiday party for our low-income seniors at our East 61st Street residence. Volunteers and residents played BINGO, made crafts, decorated cookies and brownies, and enjoyed sparkling cider to ring in the holiday season! Residents and volunteers had a fabulous time together and are even planning a joint birthday party for some time in the near future. :-) Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and housing staff for making this possible! Happy holidays!

MJE Volunteers in the UJA Newsletter

Who knew that volunteering could bring you fame and fortune? The good deeds of the MJE volunteers who made Shabbat packages for Seniors at the Met Council housing sites did not go un-noticed and here they are mentioned in the October 7th issue of the UJA e-newsletter! Good job!

Bringing the Beauty of Shabbat to Homebound Seniors
On Sunday, October 5th, 20 volunteers from Manhattan Jewish Experience led by Daniel Kraus made Shabbat packages for Met Council’s homebound seniors in the Bronx. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty is a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York. The volunteers, mostly young Jewish professionals in their 20’s and 30’s, made beeswax Shabbat candles, besamim, spice boxes, decorated Shabbat cards, and then tied everything together beautifully. The packages will bring some joy into each homebound senior’s Shabbat.